The Laguna Kindergarten
The Kindergarten of the Lagoon is an educational project that connects children aged 3 to 6 with the surrounding nature following the principles of outdoor education and biophilia.
Kindergarden of the Lagoon was born in Venice from an educational model based on contact with nature. Using a multidisciplinary and innovative approach, it promotes interaction between children and the environment, for healthy growth and a sustainable future. Asilo della Laguna is based on international experiences that have demonstrated the effectiveness and benefits of outdoor education and biophilia on human health.
The promotion of Ocean Education is the core of the project that gives children between 3 and 6 years old the opportunity to learn about the sea from early childhood, thus making them the central protagonists of the Ocean Generation.
Following the example of the Blue Schools, the educational activities of the Laguna Kindergarten will provide the tools to improve understanding of the ocean and develop in children a sense of co-responsibility towards our planet, creating a direct link between children and nature, mediated by culture and local reality.
Venice, the city in the lagoon, has the optimal characteristics to rediscover a connection with the environment that surrounds us. For this reason, it was chosen as the first city to launch the pilot project that will see the inauguration of the first nursery in September 2022.
The Prada Group was the first partner to join the initiative and support the creation of the first structure in line with the principles of outdoor education.
Kindergarten of the Lagoon offers a school model inspired by the principles and objectives of sustainable development, in particular Sustainable Development Goals 4 – Quality Education and 14 – Life Underwater.
The objectives of the project are located at multiple levels and start from an analysis of the current context to produce processes of change and innovation with respect to a future vision of education, teaching and school.
With the aim of promoting Ocean Education and training the future Ocean Generation, educational content and experimental projects will be developed with examples based on the lagoon as a transition environment between land and sea.
The concepts will be adapted to the pre-school age group (3-6 years) and will be illustrated and taught through play, observation and exploration activities along the coast.
The Laguna Kindergarten will adopt educational approaches based on experiential learning, interactivity and perceptive-sensorial experiences. All this to promote the integral and harmonious development of the child and the greater valorization of the unique and unrepeatable being that each child is.
The Venice Lagoon is perfectly suited to the achievement of the objectives of the Asilo della Laguna as it is the exemplary result of a dynamic process that demonstrates the interaction over time between man and the ecosystem.
Also for this reason the site “Venice and its Lagoon” was inscribed in 1987 on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The project in the Venetian lagoon, with its over 60 islands, can become an inspiration for other lagoon ecosystems and has the potential to become the leader of a network of the Laguna Kindergarten.
The first phase of development, finalized in May 2022, will see the definition of the details and the confirmation of the educational program of the Laguna Kindergarten.
This first phase will follow the following guidelines:
- Socio-cultural level: society and knowledge
- Pedagogical-educational level: person and development of the subject
- Didactic level: teaching and learning environments
- Organizational level: structure and school
- Development level: research and documentation
In the second phase, either an existing building will be renovated according to the principles of biophilia or the design and construction of a new building to house the Laguna Kindergarten will be promoted through an ideas competition that will be open to architecture schools, universities, professional studios, etc.
The Laguna Kindergarden aims to collaborate with the Venice Architecture Biennale to develop virtuous synergies that lead to the creation of a place that enhances the individual within nature.
Outdoor education is an educational method based on active pedagogy and experiential learning and uses the connection with nature as a key concept. It offers the advantage of great flexibility and strong adaptation to contexts, different age groups and different objectives and projects. Furthermore, it promotes awareness of the issues of respect for the environment, perception of the self in the world and physical and mental health.
Working outdoors increases children’s social skills and changes their way of relating, developing personal growth, leadership and team building.
