Context and Challenge

In Erfurt, a city in the German state of Thuringia, some young people feel disconnected from nature and excluded from environmental decision-making. Migrants, newcomers, and those from international communities are particularly affected, compounded by structural barriers such as language, migration status, and experiences of discrimination, particularly where far-right politics are more prominent.

The PLANET4B project recognised this as a critical leverage point. How can youth, especially those facing multiple forms of marginalisation, be empowered to engage with biodiversity and shape ecological futures?

The Turning Point

Culture Goes Europe (CGE), a local NGO with experience in youth activation, partnered with researchers from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg to create a Learning Community – a group of people brought together to help co-design the research process and reflect on the usefulness of the tested methods. Youth were invited from diverse backgrounds – migrants, newcomers, and international students. The Learning Community space was designed to be inclusive, safe, and co-creative — where members could reflect, experiment, and act.

Through participatory workshops, nature-based retreats, and creative interventions, biodiversity became a shared language. Activities like outdoor cinema, experiential games, and hikes helped youth move from passive concern to active engagement. One participant noted, “You don’t need to be an expert — just being present and heard can be transformative.”

Transformative Change in Action

The transformation began with a simple idea: create a space where young people could feel safe, seen, and heard.

The first meetings were quiet. Many arrived feeling unsure of their place in environmental conversations. Biodiversity, for some, was a distant concept. Others had never been asked what nature meant to them.

But slowly, through shared meals, forest walks, and open conversations, something shifted. A hike through decommissioned motorway taken by the nature a decade ago became a moment of connection. A silent meditation in the woods helped participants feel part of something larger. An outdoor cinema screening sparked laughter, curiosity, and reflection. These weren’t just activities — they were invitations to belong.

One of the most powerful tools was ‘Pathbreak: a Biodiversity-Food-Governance Game’. In this simulation, participants faced real-world dilemmas — how to balance food choices, environmental impact, and governance. The game didn’t offer easy answers, but it did offer agency. The young people debated, negotiated, and made decisions together. They saw how their values shaped outcomes and how systems could be changed.

As the weeks passed, roles began to blur. Facilitators became learners, youth became leaders. Participants proposed their own ideas, initiated workshops, and in one case co-designed and delivered an entire weekend-long educational program for other young people — Youth4Biodiversity — rooted in the principles of ecological systems thinking. These activities were no longer "delivered to" them, but "led by" them. The Learning Community evolved into a space of mutual trust, experimentation, and collective purpose.

Through this journey, participants didn’t just learn about biodiversity. They embodied it. They saw themselves as part of nature, not separate from it. And in doing so, they began to reshape their communities, their institutions, and their futures.

Alignment with PLANET4B Goals

This story reflects PLANET4B’s core objectives:

• Intersectionality: The case centres on youth at the intersection of migration, age, and cultural identity.
• Behavioural and Institutional Change: Youth moved from disempowerment to advocacy, influencing community narratives and institutional openness.
• Participatory and Creative Methods: Experiential games, nature immersion, and co-creation were central to transformation.
• Leverage Points: Youth engagement in biodiversity became a gateway to broader systemic change.

Outcomes and Vision

The Learning Community helped youth:

• Reframe biodiversity as a lived experience: By immersing young people in experiential activities such as hiking, outdoor cinema, and mindfulness in nature, the Learning Community made biodiversity tangible, personal, and emotionally resonant. Youth participants no longer saw biodiversity as a distant, scientific concept, but as something connected to their everyday actions, surroundings, and values.
• Build confidence through co-creation and ownership: Rather than being passive recipients, youth were actively involved in shaping their learning journeys—designing activities, leading reflections, and co-facilitating sessions. This agency strengthened their self-efficacy and helped shift mindsets from individual concern to collective advocacy.
• Develop emotional, cognitive, and social competencies: The combination of nature-based experiences and participatory facilitation created safe, inclusive spaces where youth could process eco-anxiety, explore systems thinking, and build meaningful peer connections. These emotional and social competencies are crucial for long-term civic engagement.
• Access opportunities and expand horizons: The Learning Community helped participants access new opportunities, including the ability to apply for funding and develop projects to replicate similar biodiversity interventions in other countries. This sense of continuity and growth beyond the initial activities reflects the project’s transformative impact.
• Engage with complexity and act systemically: Through games like the Biodiversity-Food-Governance simulation and real-world challenges during the retreat, youth learned to navigate the complexity of environmental governance and recognize systemic barriers and enablers. This empowered them not only to act locally, but to think globally and advocate effectively.

Our vision is to create as many educational opportunities as possible—across the EU and globally—that mirror the transformative experience of the Learning Community. The goal is to enable young people everywhere to build a deep, personal connection with nature and to foster a readiness to act at the individual and community levels. By multiplying these micro-actions and localized interventions, we aim to nurture a shared, human approach to biodiversity—one rooted in empathy, responsibility, and collective stewardship of the planet. Through immersive, participatory learning, youth can become catalysts of systemic change, turning individual insight into a common culture of care for nature.

Lessons for Broader Application

• Immersive experiences foster deep learning and emotional connection.
• Ownership and co-creation are key to youth empowerment.
• Emotional safety and relational learning are essential for transformation.
• Structural barriers must be acknowledged and addressed to ensure inclusion.