The "Learning outdoors" project aims to embed regular nature-based learning throughout compulsory schooling in all Swiss schools. It addresses the major challenges of our time: the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and the growing disconnection of younger generations from their natural environment.
Learning in nature fosters a deep connection between people and the living world, while developing the skills needed to act sustainably. SILVIVA Foundation, a trilingual centre of expertise, makes this form of learning accessible to everyone, regardless of age.
In the face of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and the growing disconnection of younger generations from the natural world, outdoor learning offers a powerful response. It promotes reconnection with the environment, nurtures ecological awareness, and strengthens essential social, emotional, and cognitive skills such as cooperation, empathy, and resilience.
Based on a proven educational model, the "Learning outdoors" project aims to integrate regular nature-based learning throughout compulsory schooling in all Swiss schools. Each week, children experience nature as a space for living and learning across all subjects (science, languages, mathematics, arts, etc.). This experiential, real-world approach places the pupil at the heart of the educational process.
To ensure equitable and sustainable implementation, SILVIVA works at the level of the education system: training teachers, school leaders, and trainers at universities and teacher training colleges (HEPs), co-developing certified modules, practical guides and teaching resources, and supporting schools. Peer and institutional exchange spaces strengthen synergies and the dissemination of best practices.
By 2028, SILVIVA aims to achieve the following key objectives:
- Integrate "Learning outdoors" into the initial and continuing training of 50% of HEPs/universities.
- Provide all teachers and school leaders with access to teaching resources across all subjects.
- Reach 2,300 classes practising weekly outdoor learning (approx. 42,550 pupils), representing 20% of students – similar to Denmark.
Support from the Audemars Piguet Foundation for Trees will help amplify the project’s impact in French-speaking Switzerland by strengthening partnerships with educational training and administrative institutions, and by developing solutions tailored to cantonal specificities.
