Yesterday we went to Biotopia, an educational center focused on raising interest for species and promoting visits to nature areas in the region. The place is quite well located within the city, and they were open to the general public, school visits and… us!
What I take with me from the visit is seeing the size of a “real life” moose, the dedicated guide and the ending discussion we had with him about methods on how to raise interest for nature, engage the public and its difficulties such as:
– The age of the participants: Aimed visitors were kids from 6 to 12, but 2 years old kids also went there. The center had to adapt the facilities for kids and their parents. However, many visitors are also retired, thus how to cope with all ranges of age is a challenge.
– Outdoor activities: A timing mismatch between school time and nature, meaning that when nature is at “its best” (now in May), students may not be able to experience it (class).
– The team and their resources: They are a small team who work together to design activities, and have to establish priorities and manage their resources wisely.
– Improvement and feedback: knowing how to formulate feedback questions was a challenge for them. Also, a classmate proposed the idea of organizing a birthday there, which could combine the interest for a person’s birthday with the interest for nature.
Here is the link to Biotopia: