Nature-based solutions (NBS) are solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social, and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes, and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions. NBS must therefore benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of ecosystem services. What makes the case for NBS interesting and different from previous ecosystem-based approach is the additional focus on social outcome indicators. An initiative to mainstream the best NBS innovations in European curricula is one way to make sure that students and teachers learn about the challenges the continent faces, e.g., loss of biodiversity and rising sea-level, and to boost interest in NBS innovation as solutions to these challenges. Thus, the objective of the project was to make sure that the evidence collected on the usefulness of NBS was introduced to teachers and students through engaging learning scenarios across Europe.
PPMI Group coordinated the study in collaboration with European School net. This project is the first in PPMI for the new commission and, overall, one of the first to integrate NBS in education. PPMI Group was responsible for the creation of a repository of learning scenarios on NBS, assisting teachers in developing learning scenarios and evaluation the process of testing and integration in the different education systems. PPMI reviewed an extensive amount of NBS initiatives to select the most effective solutions with educational potential. The main outputs were a repository of NBS resources, production and translation of learning materials created by teachers, post-implementation stories, a validation report and a final study report on the feasibility of integrating NBS in education.
The study is a part of the ongoing effort by the European Commission to mainstream the latest knowledge from science and innovative pedagogical methods in education to instill in students the necessary attitudes and skills to act for sustainability.
