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How Does Forestry Education Look Like?
Forestry education is based on a direct contact with nature. It takes place either in the classroom or
in the woods where pupils and students get acquainted with forest environment and rules in an entertaining
way, such as using a variety of games. During the various activities, they learn to perceive the forest by all
their senses. The main emphasis is put on self discovery, exploration and creation.
The forestry education activities simultaneously touch several subjects, allowing schoolchildren to practice
their key skills. Practical examples enable children to verify their knowledge acquired so far and, at the same
time, they motivate them to learn something new. Based on agreement with the forester, it is possible to –
apart from biology or EETA – focus also on other subjects, such as history, geography, physics or chemistry.
Naturally, each teaching session also includes information on what one may and may not do in the woods
and why. A forestry education session usually takes four hours and it can take place in any weather.
Who Is Forestry Education For?
Forestry education is intended basically for everyone, especially for children of all ages. The forestry edu-
cation workshops are popular especially among primary schools both for pupils from the primary and lower
secondary stage. For instance, children from the third and fourth grade of the 16th primary school in Pilsen
attended the workshop in the Sofronka arboretum in Pilsen in October 2013. During a varied programme,
the pupils saw, beside other things, felling a tree, demonstrations of work with hunting dogs and they could
also closely inspect hunting weapons. They also learned what tree species grow in the Pilsen Region and
how to behave in the woods and how to protect them. The children obtained a lot of experience and va-
luable knowledge and their teachers, Mgr. Iveta Lavičková and Mgr. Hana Lukešová, were also satisfied with
the lecture.
Sources:
Education System in Greece
Structure
Like the education system in the Czech Republic, the education system in Greece is divided into prima-
ry (protovathmia), secondary (defterovathmia) and tertiary (tritovathmia) education. School attendance is
compulsory for children aged 6–15, i.e. it includes a general elementary school (dimotiko scholio – analogy
of the Czech primary stage of primary schools, i.e. 1st–6th grade) and lower secondary school (jimnasio,
7th–9th grade).
Pre-School Education
Education may start as early as at the age of 2.5 (so-called pre-school education) in designated public
or private institutions, which correspond to our creches (vrefonipiakoi paidikoi stathmoi).
Nursery schools (nipiagojio) are attended two years, between the age of 4–6, and they prepare children for
elementary school. Public nursery schools are free of charge. Moreover, a full-day nursery school was establis-
hed in Greece with more time allocated for creative activities (total of 8 hours per day).
