Building Teacher Confidence Through Outdoor Learning: Empowering Educators Meets in Denmark

In March, representatives from UNESCO Global Geoparks across the Nordic region gathered in Odsherred UNESCO Global Geopark, Denmark, for the second transnational meeting of the Nordplus Horizontal project Empowering Educators. GeoCamp Iceland participated as an associated partner through its long-standing collaboration with Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark, which coordinates the project.

The meeting marked an important milestone as the partnership moved from research and needs analysis towards practical implementation. Over two days, partners from Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden explored how geoparks can support teachers in delivering meaningful outdoor learning experiences and how outdoor education can become a more natural part of everyday school life.

From Research to Action

The project’s earlier work revealed a consistent message across the Nordic countries: teachers are highly motivated to use outdoor learning environments, but many lack the confidence to take the first step.

Rather than creating large amounts of new educational content, the project is now focusing on helping teachers feel comfortable using the resources and opportunities that already exist around them. Discussions in Denmark centred on practical barriers such as lesson planning, curriculum alignment, logistics, safety considerations, and the challenge of fitting outdoor learning into busy school schedules.

As partners agreed, the challenge is not convincing teachers that outdoor learning is valuable. The challenge is making it feel achievable.

Learning in the Geopark

The first day of the meeting took place in the field, where participants experienced outdoor learning activities at selected sites within Odsherred UNESCO Global Geopark. Rather than focusing on geological content alone, the group analysed how learning experiences are structured, how teachers manage groups outdoors, and how activities can be adapted to different educational settings.

These field visits provided an opportunity to examine outdoor education from the perspective of both learners and educators. Discussions explored how activities can be scaled up or down depending on available time, weather conditions, transportation, and curriculum requirements.
For GeoCamp Iceland, these conversations resonated strongly with ongoing work in Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark, where outdoor learning, UNESCO school collaboration, and place-based education continue to play an increasingly important role.

Sharing Good Practice Across the Nordic Region

Partners presented a range of inspiring initiatives from their respective geoparks.
Examples included Norway’s “Geologist and Researcher for a Day” programme, Finland’s development of local outdoor learning sites in cooperation with schools and municipalities, Sweden’s innovative use of virtual learning environments, and Denmark’s successful Junior Geologists programme.

The discussions highlighted the strength of the geopark network as a platform for educational innovation. While educational systems differ between countries, many of the challenges faced by teachers are remarkably similar.

Icelandic Teachers Put the Model to the Test

Following the project meeting, a group of teachers from primary schools within Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark travelled to Odsherred to participate in a dedicated professional development workshop.

The workshop served as a practical validation exercise for the project. Teachers experienced outdoor learning activities firsthand before reflecting on how similar approaches could be implemented in Icelandic schools.

The results were encouraging. Teachers reported increased confidence in leading outdoor activities and highlighted the value of practical examples, peer learning, and opportunities to experience outdoor education as learners themselves. Interestingly, safety and logistics were not identified as the main barriers. Instead, teachers pointed to limited time, curriculum pressures, and access to ready-to-use resources as the biggest challenges.

These findings strongly support the project’s focus on confidence-building and practical implementation rather than simply producing more educational materials.

Looking Ahead

The next phase of the project will focus on developing practical teacher support resources, collecting examples of outdoor learning activities from geoparks across the Nordic region, and creating a shared educational resource database.

The partnership is also preparing a series of teacher workshops and dissemination activities, including a presentation proposal submitted to the European Geoparks Network Conference 2026.

For GeoCamp Iceland, participation in Empowering Educators aligns closely with our mission of using Iceland’s landscapes as living classrooms and strengthening connections between science, sustainability, and education. Through collaboration with Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark and our Nordic partners, we continue to explore how geoparks can help empower teachers, inspire learners, and bring education outdoors.
​
Outdoor learning begins with confidence. Sometimes, all it takes is the courage to step outside the classroom.