The Nordic Nature Kindergarten Network - Creating a network to explore existing researc and good practice examples in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden

Nature kindergartens are culturally highly valued in the Nordic countries, and their unique approach to early childhood education is increasingly recognized in the international discourse. Despite a long-lasting tradition of nature kindergartens in the Nordic regions, research in this scope is relatively
new and almost exclusively conducted on the national scale. The overarching objective of our participatory workshop series is to establish and foster the first Nordic Nature Kindergarten (NNK) network, which systematically brings together existing knowledge regarding research on and good practice of Nordic nature kindergartens. By enhancing co-production and sharing knowledge on the
implications of Nordic nature kindergartens as spaces for children’s learning and development, we aim to create a platform for the Nordic countries to learn from each other's distinct practices and research approaches. Further, the network will use the gained knowledge to develop a draft for a joint large-scale
international grant application on the topic. The interdisciplinary network consortium will consist of scientific experts in the field from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden (researchers across all career stages and gender-balanced), in close collaboration with extended experts outside academia (nature kindergartens from the three different Nordic countries). The bottom-up approach to the workshop series on Nordic nature kindergartens will be inspired by three initial themes: culture-nature understanding, sustainability, and cultural diversity. The three planned workshops will take place in the participating Nordic countries, and they will be held in-person, partly outdoors, and during different
seasons of the year (March 2023 in Norway, October 2023 in Denmark, and May 2024 in Sweden). Variations in season are a vital element of the activity in nature kindergartens. During the three workshops, research from all Nordic countries will be explored and discussed regarding the content of children’s outdoor play and learning, creative methods, ethics, and central theories. Here, the
early-career researcher will have active and leading roles throughout all phases, including designing detailed workshops content, leading discussions, and participating in the research dissemination (e.g., graphical review publication). Visiting nature kindergartens will add a crucial, novel, and practical
element to each of the workshops