Photo: Alina Wader

In the forest- and meadow kindergarten in Tückhude, in the town of Golchen, the children start their morning outside in the fresh air. Regardless of the weather, the children spend the entire day outside in nature, entirely free of the constraints of rooms, far from any city noise. The young children can experience and explore their environment with all of their senses. Dressed in rainboots and rain pants, the 3- to 5-year-olds engage in every game their imaginations can produce, all between trees and meadows: as they play, branches, tree stumps, and rocks become castles and pirate ships. The children’s play is not dictated by the available selection of toys; their imaginations have free range.

Almost as a side effect, the children develop a healthy sense of social togetherness; the children learn to distinguish a beech tree from an oak, for example, or to recognize different species of birds. They observe beetles and ants in their natural environment and learn about the different “tasks” carried out by insects in the forest. The idea behind it all: children who experience nature in all its diversity at an early age will have a different perspective on the environment later in life.

The forest- and meadow kindergarten is especially attractive for families from the area with an urban background. The nature-focused kindergarten is one of only a few reform-pedagogical institutions in the region of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte.

“Initiatives like this can be multipliers of reform-pedagogical approaches in more rural areas,” said Timotheus Wersich, the responsible project manager at SAGST. “In addition to the children and parents, the local communities benefit, as well. The young families who move in are engaged with the project and with the neighborhood, and the whole region gains new perspectives.”