ESC: Volunteering for environmental awareness

Tipu Nature School is a non-profit organization founded in august 2007 with the aim of connecting people with nature and promoting environmental awareness. Tipu Nature School is situated on the base of an old schoolhouse in Tipu village in Soomaa National Park/South-West Estonia , which is known for its vast bog complexes, rivers and flooded meadows. Soomaa offers great possibilities for nature hikes and observations. The main focus of the Nature School is on educational programs for school and kindergarden kids. We also offer nature camps for youngsters during school vacation. Apart from that we organize nature hikes, lectures and trainings on environmental education, permaculture, handicrafs. Our aim is to build up an interactive, informative and attractive complex. So far the Nature School offers lots of smaller attractions like barefoot-trail, permaculture garden, water playground and the interaction with our animals (goats, chicken, rabbits and bees). With the help of volunteers from different countries we build up the grounds of the Nature School, keep our hiking trail in order and restore a wooded meadow within the National Park. We organize international workcamps every year. Tipu Nature School in active in the devolopment of the region as destination for sustainable turism. In cooperation with partners in Estonia in Latvia we implement waste audit programs in schools. Tipu Nature School has two employees and additional staff during children camps and work camps. The organization hosts two German volunteers at the time doing a so called voluntary ecological year.