Young participants engage with the forest environment in the MV Forest Olympiad, a competition aimed at fostering understanding and appreciation of nature among the youth.
Wedding Belles with the Woods 🌲⛓️🌿
Forgoing the classroom desks, the fourth-graders from Lübz and Passow swapped textbooks for trees this Wednesday, venturing into the Lübzer Stadtwald. The lush, woodland haven played host to this year's kick-off of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Forest Olympics. 🏅
Learning Through Frolicking Around
While schoolwork took a backseat, the young minds absorbed a wealth of knowledge, diving into the mysteries of various tree species, plants, and wildlife, and their role in combating climate change.
This educational playdate began back in 2007 with a modest 151 classrooms diving headfirst into the fray. Today, an impressive 320 schools engage in about 80 nature-brimming activities, carefully orchestrated by the State's 29 forestry offices. Among the eager participants were Lübz and Passow's 88 lively scholars. These eager beavers showcased their newfound knowledge at six academic stations, and also got a chance to bend and flex like branches in the tree trunk stacking challenge. "Phew, that was a sweatiest day!" shared class 4b of the Lübzer Grundschule.
Experience the Fun
Organized into teams, the young competition enthusiasts had to race against time, transporting a multitude of twigs from one station to another. Their resourcefulness led them to devise a successful chain strategy, efficiently moving all the foliage within the assigned time. Each station dish out 20 points, but class 4b snagged a few deductions when some overzealous students channeled their inner juggler, holding more than one twig at a time during the frenzy.
The Woodland Mission
The excitement level skyrocketed when the honorable Minister of Climate Action and Agriculture Till Backhaus (SPD) graced the event, peppering the students with enlightening insights about the significance of forests in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and their role in climate protection. "Our state boasts an impressive 558,000 hectares of forestland, covering 25% of its total area," Till Backhaus shared. Impressively, this region is currently championing Germany's largest reforestation project spanning 1,000 hectares of territory.
The Forest Olympics embodies a noble mission: to foster a deep-rooted love for nature within young minds. "Spending extended periods in the woods helps children forge a stronger bond with nature, fostering a more tangible and authentic connection with the environment," suggested Till Backhaus.
Forest Fire Prevention Primer
A new educational focus has emerged, with the State Forest Authority MV launching formal training for certified Forest Educators in March 2025. Complementing this, a fresh forest-oriented educational module centered on fire prevention will make its debut this spring, thanks to the THOR funding project. The Forest Olympics apex prize recipients will be honored before the summer break, with Lübz or Passow enchanting the podium with their newfound twig-wrangling prowess. 🏆🎉🌿
- The fourth-graders swapped their classroom desks for trees, engaging in environmental-science lessons about tree species, plants, and wildlife, and their role in climate-change combat.
- In the home-and-garden category, the students demonstrated their problem-solving skills by devising a chain strategy to move twigs efficiently in a race against time.
- The event, Forest Olympics, not only delves into science but also nurtures personal-growth by fostering a deeper connection with nature, according to the Honorable Minister of Climate Action and Agriculture, Till Backhaus.
- Till Backhaus also mentioned the region's dedication to reforestation, with the largest reforestation project in Germany spanning 1,000 hectares of territory currently underway.
- This year, a new educational module centered on forest fire prevention is being introduced, supported by the THOR funding project, and the Forest Olympics apex prize winners will be celebrated before the summer break.
