Welcome to the first OUTnature newsletter!
OUTnature is a 18-month project by the Dutch Out of Office Foundation and Italian organisation Kamaleonte, made possible by Erasmus+. Together, we’re exploring how we can use the power of nature to support and connect young people.
In this first edition, we’ll take you back to our first meeting in Amsterdam, introduce you to some of the inspiring people we spoke to for our upcoming book, and share what we have planned for the months ahead.
Enjoy the read!
Bigio, Bibi & Rutger
How we kicked things off in Amsterdam
Before diving into research and writing, we started where we like to start: together. Earlier this year, the OUTnature team came together in Amsterdam for our first project kick-off. A moment to get to know each other better, sharpen the direction of the project and, most importantly, experience some of the principles we want OUTnature to stand for ourselves.
We talked about the challenges young people are facing, exchanged methods and experiences from our work in the Netherlands and Italy, and started shaping the question that will guide us throughout the project: What does it really take to create meaningful learning experiences in nature?
Learning from those who know best
Over the past months, we’ve spoken to and collected insights from outdoor educators, researchers, adventurers, trainers and facilitators who have spent years experiencing what happens when you take people outside.
Among them are Tim Voors, international writer and founder of ‘School of Dreams’, Roos Moll from Nature Quest, Ellen Rohaan, associate professor and researcher, Birgit Snelleman, Nature Connector and Shinrin-Yoku guide, Annelies Slijpen, outdoor trainer and coach, Wout van Helden, researcher, teacher and therapist, and full-time adventurer Tamar Valkenier, alongside many others. We asked them questions like:
What changes when you take a group outside? Why is nature such a powerful place for learning and connection? What actually works? And what do facilitators need to know to make those experiences meaningful?
Their answers range from the power of silence, walking and campfires to nervous-system regulation, play, challenge, reflection and simply creating space. One thing keeps coming back: nature does part of the work for us. But taking a group outside isn't automatically the same as facilitating meaningful learning outdoors. And that distinction has become an important starting point for OUTnature.
For me, nature is not just a setting in which you organise activities. Nature is part of the learning process,” Tamar Valkenier, full-time adventurer
We’re turning it into a book
All these conversations are feeding into something bigger: the OUTnature book. And no, it won't be another “50 fun activities to do outside” manual. The book is being created for youth workers and outdoor educators and combines research, lived experience, stories, reflection and practical tools. The idea is to help facilitators understand not only what they can do outside, but why it works and how to facilitate it well.
The book moves through three layers: first, understanding nature and experiential learning; then the real experiences and stories of professionals and participants; and finally, the role of the facilitator - including how to hold space, reflect and turn an experience into learning.
Next stop: Italy
In April 2027, we’ll take OUTnature from the page into the outdoors during a five-day international training in Italy. A group of youth workers and facilitators will come together to experience, test and help shape the OUTnature approach. We’ll learn, walk, experiment, facilitate, reflect and, of course, spend a fair amount of time around the campfire sharing stories.
But this training is also a pilot. Participants won’t just learn from the methods we’ve collected, they’ll help us test what works in practice, what needs adjusting and what it takes to bring these approaches into different youth work settings.
Their experiences and feedback will feed into the final replicable training programme and open-access tools, designed so youth workers can take what they’ve learned back into their own organisations and communities.
We’ll keep sharing what we discover along the way. And if you know someone working with young people, experiential learning or nature who should know about OUTNature, feel free to forward this newsletter their way. Until then: go outside.
Team OUTnature
Out of Office Foundation × Kameleonte
