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Speaker: Natasa Chatziioannou
Topic: Social Permaculture in Education & Children
This session is based on Natasa’s Master’s thesis on how a permaculture project can be developed in a public school during the school year. The relationship between children and nature has been studied for many years at an international level. Research has demonstrated that children’s contact with nature positively impacts their physical condition, mental health, social behavior, and the development of environmental values. The development of skills and values connected to the natural environment and local communities during childhood is associated with the continuation of these skills and values into adulthood.
Permaculture is recognized as a holistic design science for creating sustainable spaces and communities. The school community is considered an excellent opportunity for this process to begin, with the aim that creative solutions to humanity’s social and environmental challenges can be explored together with children.
The presentation of the permaculture project for schools, as part of the Social Permaculture seminar, is intended to inspire teachers, educators, NGOs, communities, and anyone working with children to integrate social permaculture practices into their daily work.
Environmental educator & founder of Smirili Nature Experiences
Natasa is a nature lover and sustainable travel ambassador. She is the founder of Smirili Nature Experiences, a hiking and nature awareness business in Greece. She holds a degree in Environmental Sciences and a Masters in environmental education from the University of the Aegean. From a very young age she discovered that is passionate about nature exploration. At the age of 15 decided to follow the career of environmentalist and keep this path in her life.
She is travelling herself in areas around the world to thoroughly observe human behavior with the nature around them. She has experience in working with people in the tropic, the arctic and the Mediterranean climate. She is dedicated to designing and operating environmental education activities for children in cooperation with several associations, NGOs and social cooperatives in Cyclades. She is also cooperating with associations around Europe for designing Erasmus + projects for youth work and adult education. She has completed a Permaculture Design Course and in 2020 has completed a course provided by Gaia Education “Design for Sustainability” with the final project outcome a blueprint on how to design regenerative educational centers “Whole Education Blueprint – The sustainable Kindergarten”.
Since 2022 she is also working as an Arctic Guide in Finnish Lapland and also holds the “Arctic Guide” Certificate from the University of Lapland Finland. Her academic studies are complemented with several courses and seminars about sustainability, nature connection and interaction, permaculture, nutrition, ecosystem design, nature guide, travel guide, community building and social economy.
Her main residency is in Naxos, inspired by the beauty of the Cycladic ecosystem.
Her vision is to re-establish our connection with nature through meaningful interaction as seminars, outdoors activities and experiential learning workshops.