ULOS–UT–OUT Brings Classrooms to Tampere’s Parks, Forests and Lake Shores

ULOS–UT–OUT will take over Tampere's parks, forests and lake shores from June 9–11. The three-day event gathers teachers, educators and youth workers to develop nature- and environment-based education and strengthen young people's connection to nature.

Conference coordinator Maija Ihantola invites adults to experience nature-based learning firsthand. "All it takes to learn outdoors is the courage to step outside and make room for insights," she says. Workshops and program trails will run around Sammon koulu and the parks by Kaleva Church, through the Kauppi forest and along the shores of Lake Iidesjärvi. Themes range from wild nature in the city to nature in vocational education, and sessions include an escape game about a Baltic Sea rescue, an ant workshop, and practical training for outdoor education with children who have special needs.

Keynote speakers include Professor Kirsi Pauliina Kallio, who urges educators to spot teaching opportunities in unexpected places, plus a joint presentation by Sofia Laine and Jarmo Kokkonen on values, ethics and the good life. Ilari E. Sääksjärvi will deliver a keynote on biodiversity; the improvisational theatre group Stella Polaris will interpret the talk. The City's Nature Ambassadors project will support local kindergarten and elementary teachers, and the Priodiversity LIFE project is the event’s main partner.

Public excursions run alongside the conference: a meadow walk at Kalevankangas to look for the endangered moth Athetis gluteosa; an early-morning birdwatching and bird banding trip at Lake Iidesjärvi; and a trout stock management visit to Vuohenoja. Work communities can try an Outdoor Office Day at the Pyynikki observation tower on May 18, combining walking meetings, nature offices and restorative breaks.