Context and Challenge

Across Europe, modern world children are growing up increasingly disconnected from nature, which has consequences at every level. Personally, it contributes to declining mental and physical health, a lack of ecological awareness, and diminished responsibility for the environment. Practically, it weakens care and stewardship, as children fail to see their role in protecting biodiversity. Politically, nature is often treated as a resource to be exploited, rather than a partner in sustaining life.

Environmental education has the potential to bridge this gap, but it is often confined to classrooms and taught in isolation from lived experience. In Hungary, systemic barriers – including centralised curricula, overburdened teachers, and limited institutional support – prevent experiential learning from becoming mainstream. School gardens, which offer hands-on engagement with biodiversity, remain underutilised despite their transformative potential.

Vision for Transformation

In the future we imagine, every child grows up with a deep, experiential connection to nature. School gardens are not extracurricular novelties but central components of education. They are spaces where students learn not only biology, but empathy, cooperation, and resilience. Subjects are taught holistically, emphasising the interconnectedness of all living beings. Teachers are empowered to integrate outdoor learning across disciplines, and policymakers recognise experiential education as essential to ecological literacy and stewardship.

These gardens become hubs of community engagement. Parents, local farmers, and conservationists collaborate with schools, fostering intergenerational learning and sustainable food practices. Municipalities and NGOs provide resources and support, ensuring gardens flourish and expand. The result is a generation of students who not only understand biodiversity but feel responsible for it – who see themselves as part of nature, not separate from it.

Leverage Points and Pathways

The transformation begins with small but powerful shifts. In one Hungarian school, a neglected green space was turned into a thriving garden through participatory action research. A dedicated “lighthouse” teacher led the initiative, working with researchers and students to co-create the space. As the garden grew, so did ownership, values, and institutional change. Arts-based methods and reflexive learning deepened students’ connection to nature, fostering long-term behavioural shifts.

This model offers a pathway for broader change. Peer-learning networks, such as the Hungarian Foundation for School Gardens, help teachers share best practices. The integration of biodiversity in the curricula, aligned with national standards, enable creativity and hands-on learning. Participatory projects allow students to shape their environments, cultivating agency and ecological stewardship.

Barriers and Enablers

Barriers include rigid educational structures, lack of funding, and limited recognition of experiential learning in policy. Teachers often lack time, support, and training to implement nature-based education. Broader political dynamics may also constrain innovation.

Enablers include passionate educators, supportive school leadership, and growing networks of practitioners. Community involvement, NGO partnerships, and municipal support provide resources and legitimacy. The gardens themselves – as living, evolving spaces – become catalysts for change, demonstrating the power of learning by doing.