Our programme partner „Nature moves“

For more than 25 years „Nature moves“ as an experiential education programme partner of the youth hostels in the Rhineland and runs educational school trip programmes for various hostels. Since it was founded, around half a million schoolchildren have taken part in the „Natur bewegt“ programmes, estimates Valentin Kern, founder and managing director.

Even as a child, the 61-year-old enjoyed being out in nature, hiking, canoeing, climbing and camping with his parents. After leaving school, he initially travelled to the USA for a while. It was there that Valentin Kern completed his first experiential education training programme. Back in Germany, the Cologne native moved from the Rhineland to Göttingen in Lower Saxony, where he first studied to become a teacher and then switched to studying forestry. Following his studies, Valentin Kern worked as a forester for a while, managed a bird of prey station in Cologne and spent six months as a back country ranger in the USA. Through environmental education, he ended up in experiential education. This is where he finally found his calling and founded „Natur bewegt“ in 1998.

„Nature moves“: The name says it all

The DJH Rhineland regional association was the first major client of the newly founded company at the end of the 1990s. The collaboration began back then in the Simmerath-Rurberg Youth Hostel, recalls Valentin Kern. Natur bewegt„ is currently working with the houses in Ratingen and Bonn Both youth hostels are located in the immediate vicinity of a large forest area. Nature and exercise can be perfectly combined there. „Three things are important in our programmes,“ explains Valentin Kern. „Firstly: nature. The focus of our programmes is always on the forest. Many children today don't even know which animals live in our forest. The tiger from the jungle on TV is more present than the fox. Secondly: the group. Here, for example, social skills such as communication and consideration are promoted with the help of co-operation tasks. Thirdly: The individual. Each and every individual should be encouraged in the programme and get out of their own comfort zone.“

How does it all work? Valentin Kern has a team of seven full-time employees and around 50 freelancers. „Natur bewegt“ has been working with most of the speakers for many years. They therefore have a wealth of experience in running the programmes. „Every team member has their own tricks,“ reveals Valentin Kern. They also try to use the instructors according to their preferences. Those who prefer to work with primary school children are also more likely to be deployed on school trips for these year groups. And vice versa!

The biggest challenge for the speakers are classes with children who don't want to or can't listen because their attention span is too short. „The willingness to listen has fallen sharply due to the pandemic and electronic media,“ reports Valentin Kern. In some cases, pupils first have to be persuaded to engage with the programme. „If they succeed, the children and young people actually always enjoy it and are happy about their successes, for example when they burst a balloon after an hour of archery.“

High quality programmes guaranteed!

Since 2010, „Natur bewegt“ has been Federal Association for Experiential Education certified and bears the „beQ“ - not only as an adventure education programme partner, but also as an established provider of training and further education. In this way, „Natur bewegt“ guarantees the high quality of its programmes. Valentin Kern is particularly proud of the certification by the ERCA (European Ropes Course Association) as a training centre. Valentin Kern, who actively climbs himself, is an instructor trainer and examines training centres throughout Europe. For him, climbing is the best way to strengthen the classroom community. „Climbing is fundamentally scary because of the height and the children learn to push themselves to their limits. It doesn't matter whether this limit is at a height of one metre or three metres. They also have to rely on their classmates to secure them. And children who are too scared or can't climb for various reasons also find belaying an important task.“

In addition to regular certifications, a feedback system also ensures that the quality of the programmes is guaranteed. For example, there is not only a discussion between the instructors and teachers before the school trip, but also afterwards. In addition, the accompanying adults fill out a feedback form, which is then sent back to „Natur bewegt“ via the respective youth hostel. „The results are usually good. If this is not the case, we talk to the teachers again and follow up on what didn't go well,“ explains Valentin Kern.