It aims to connect educators, researchers, and students from all disciplines at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and beyond, who are advancing Nature-Based Pedagogy (NBP). We bring together experts exploring how embodied, experiential learning in nature can transform higher education by fostering ecological awareness, well-being, creativity, and sustainable action in response to the climate and biodiversity crises.
Unprecedented climate and biodiversity crises are reshaping how we learn and live. In higher education, conventional classroom approaches often fall short in building the deep ecological literacy, emotional connection, and transformative capacities students need. Nature-Based Pedagogy methods address this gap through innovative, research-informed methods such as Art- and Nature-based learning and Ecowalks to deepen the learning process and strengthen the connection between humans and (other) nature. We are a growing community of committed educators and researchers at VU developing and piloting nature-based interventions tailored to specific courses and learning objectives. We call ourselves ‘Plato’s Garden’, after the ancient Academus - the grove where Plato taught in the Academy's garden. In our experience, these practices help students move beyond abstract knowledge toward meaningful, context-sensitive engagement with the living world, while contributin to improving students’ wellbeing.
As a research cluster, we aim to organise regular activities that foster interdisciplinary exchange across all career stages, from students to professors, and across all disciplines and education sectors. Through these interactions, we hope to spark new collaborations, joint research projects, and innovative applications of nature-based pedagogy across the university and beyond. Our goal is to transform isolated initiatives into a coordinated movement, develop shared resources and best practices, and build robust frameworks for assessing the impact of nature-based learning on student well-being, engagement, creativity, and environmental attitudes. The overall, wider ambition is to contribute to education for regeneration towards post-anthropocentric futures.
We are passionate about reimagining higher education through direct connection with nature and look forward to sharing this energy with the VU community and beyond. We regularly organize low-threshold meetings and walks. Interested in collaborating, piloting an intervention, or sharing a practice?
