We are at the DECISIVE STEP, the initial push to grow up and walk on our own two feet. We have found a home for our SCHOOL, what we need now is help to hire a third teacher: RESINA! We want to build an open, inclusive and contagious project, can you help us?
Creativity Garden Pianoro is a democratic primary school in nature. And like every natural element, it is growing. It is growing in ideas, in projects, and with the desire to share them. To support the expenses that these ideas and needs require, we are reaching out to ask for a hand.
To be able to continue to imagine and build projects, to make our school, our yellow house, a living and shared space; before, after and during school. In short, to consolidate who we are, to stimulate interaction with the institutions of Bologna (and why not, with the whole of Italy), to bring a bit of forest to the city, to our friends' schools, because the best school does not exist, but it can be created by listening and influencing. Help us put down our roots, stretch out our branches, and cover ourselves with leaves – we've prepared some wonderful donation incentives, but what we would really like is that you become an integral part of this unique project!
Help us to start out, to build strong legs and then walk on our own and spread our idea of schooling.
Foglia, Tronco, Resina... and lots of twigs
Creativity Garden Pianoro is Adam, Alfredo, Celeste, Claudio, Daria, Elias, Ettore, Giovanni, Irene, Leda, Marta, Numa, Paolo, Sebastiano and Tobia. And with them teacher Foglia (Clementina), teacher Tronco (Tommaso) and - starting this year – teacher Resina (Fabrizia).
In its first three years, our school has welcomed and accompanied more than 20 families, it has changed location twice and has now finally found a permanent home. It is yellow with green windows, it has a kitchen, a garden, a chicken coop, a vegetable garden and - of course - a forest.
Moving into this new home, filling it, welcoming Fabrizia and starting over again, however, requires commitment and resources. And it doesn't end here. Because now we want to make this (yellow!) house more and more welcoming, for the children and for all the families who will come after us. Don't worry, we don't need sofas and cushions, what we need to do is to turn our ideas into projects. We would like our school to become the home of many, and for a long period of time: we want to include workshops, training courses, shows, parties... And we would like, above all, for it to continue to grow and dialogue. With whom? With other schools, for example.
How we will spend the amount raised
- Our first goal is 12.000 euros to cover the cost of our new teacher Resina for this academic year, October 2023 – June 2024. We know that this is an extra expense but Resina’s presence is fundamental for the growth and wellbeing of our project, the children and the larger educational community that we are part of. This is why we are asking our friends, relatives, acquaintances and colleagues from all over to help us. Could we pay for this ourselves? Of course we would like to but the funds that we have through tuition, fundraising events, etc. are already covering the extra expenses that we are facing this year! We are looking for a breath of fresh air!
- If we reach our first goal, our second one is to raise another 10.000 euros to cover rent expenses for the 2023-2024 academic year.
- We also have a third goal, if we reach our second one as well. With 5.500 euros we will be able to cover expenses such as external professionals, activities, events, etc. that enrich the educational experience of our children. This will help us to grow and have a sturdy foundation for the future.
If you have gotten this far, don’t leave just yet, we need your help too!
Our "au naturel" history
Since its creation, Creativity Garden has been listening. To boys and girls, because that's how every morning begins. To their families, because they are a vital part of the project. To other educational programs "in nature", because the exchange between those who share the same horizon is essential for improvement. To the city, from which some of us come and where we go to discover and experience community and citizenship. To other schools, because we believe that this is not "another way of doing school", but instead "one more way" of doing school. And one plus one equals two! (We learn this also in the forest!).
Why Your Help Can Change Our Destiny
To consolidate internally and grow in the community. The novelties we have told you about have involved and will involve fixed expenses as well as costs for individual projects. Yes, it's true, the majority of it is "our stuff"; such as our school days, our paths, our activities. Contributing to this project, which is transitioning into a larger entity, also means sharing the opportunity and value of having an extra voice in the dialogue and discussion regarding "education" in Italy. Abroad (especially in northern Europe) outdoor education is an important, integrated, contaminating and polyphonic voice. To be able to make our voice heard, to make the environment, nature and its processes an essential element of Italian schools, to further the dialogue between Tronco, Foglia, Resina and their colleagues, we need to put down our roots.
"Is it worth it for a child to learn while crying what he can learn while laughing?" - Gianni Rodari
One of our goals is to provide financial aid to those who otherwise would not be able to participate in a project like ours. One of our dreams is to become 100% inclusive and accessible!
Donation Incentives
The first thing we can't wait to do with those who will help us is to invite them to our school!
Show them our spaces, from the kitchen to the forest, and tell them about our school days. But that's not all, there are many workshops scheduled for adults and children: all the families will be able to participate at discounted prices, taking the opportunity to get out of the house, to get to know a new place and make friends with other families and children.
You can find the full list of donation incentives on this page and you can book yours with a simple click. We record all data in full respect of privacy laws and we will notify each one of you as soon as the campaign is over.
What is a "school in the forest"
Creativity Garden Pianoro is a democratic primary school, it is part of the non-profit social cooperative Canalescuola, and is the brother (or sister!) of the projects Educare nel Bosco (ages 3-6) and Yurta Arcobalena (ages 1-3). Since its conception, two locations ago, Creativity Garden Pianoro has been working towards the creation of a new idea of schooling, based on an ecological perspective of the individual: boys and girls carry with them from birth everything they need to develop their uniqueness!
The school's contribution is to accompany the learning needs of every boy and every girl in terms of identity (who am I), autonomy (I make do), skills (I know how to do it) and citizenship (it's not just me). The elements that surround the school and this educational journey (time, spaces, methods) do not lead the child, but rather listen to and accompany him or her. Physically, emotionally, cognitively, spiritually, intuitively, aesthetically, creatively, ethically, socially, multi-culturally and ecologically. The starting point? Nature and contact with the environment, the main theatre (but not the only one!) in which the proposals of adults meet the freedom and autonomy of boys and girls, who with their choices, needs and responsibilities participate in the decision-making process that concerns their learning.
