Visit to the Excursion Site at Can Mateu, Spain

Today we visited the excursion location for our first “Real World Lab for inner and outer sustainability” targeting secondary students. The nature-based learning site is called Can Mateu and coordinated by the non-profit leisure organization Fundesplai that defines its mission “to improve the environment and promoting citizenship and social inclusion, with a transformative will”. Can Mateu is located in the municipality of Vilanova de Sau, in the Osona region of Catalonia. 

We, teachers David and Montse of Vedruna School and Stella a collaborator of Bund für Bildung, were warmly welcomed by educational staff member Rafa and he guided us through the old farmhouse that has been restored to be a large summer house as well as the wonderful surrounding natural area of the house located at ​​Les Guilleries, and the banks of the Sau Reservoir. Following him we discovered that Can Mateu has the perfect infrastructure and natural environment for excursions, kayaking, zip-lining, swimming, workshops, games, etc. and fulfills one of our excursion highlights to build huts with natural materials. Our visit was also important to discuss and adjust the program to the needs of the students, the teachers as well as our Real World Lab design. Visiting and researching the nature-based learning site before the actual excursion and its educational programs has proofed as a crucial steps to prepare the didactical and pedagogical aspects of any outdoor excursion.

We discussed with the educational staff of the nature-based learning site the excursion plan and adjusted the design including logistical and resource-related requirements; defining more precisely topics, content, and methods according to the detailed explanations about the Fundesplai educational inputs; re-scheduling the time-table; agreeing on “work time” and “leisure time”; configuring a list  for materials and any necessary equipment e.g. for building huts with natural materials. We also specified the framing of the excursion into school study units with preparatory lectures as a film screening with a colloquium where students will be defining the values of the movie and later relate those values to experiences during the excursion. 

Can Mateu is exactly what we envisioned for our first real world lab for internal and external sustainability—we can’t wait for the students to visit this wonderful place!

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