What does the forest school offer?
At the Forest School Innsbruck, Tyrol's compulsory schools can teach their pupils about the importance of the forest and raise environmental awareness. The forest classroom can be booked by schools as an extracurricular place of learning both as part of educational programmes and for self-organised lessons. It is possible to book a morning, afternoon or full-day slot in the forest school.
The Forest School Innsbruck by Service Unit Nature and recreation - Forest school offers a unique learning environment in which pupils can recognise the importance of the forest and acquire practical skills to actively contribute to the protection and sustainable use of the forest. In addition, the relationship to flora and fauna should be actively integrated into the school curriculum.
There is a covered forest classroom with a wooden structure in the shape of a leaf and a grandstand with seating steps in a large clearing in the Mühlau municipal forest. The forest school also has an outbuilding with sanitary facilities and a store for teaching materials.
The construction of the forest school was subsidised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism, the province of Tyrol and the European Union
You can find more information about the forest school in the forest school folder:
What are the aims of the Forest School?
The aim of the Innsbruck Forest School is to combine education, closeness to nature and sustainability. A comprehensive education helps to understand nature and makes people aware of how the environment, economy and society are connected. As a result, pupils learn to think holistically and act responsibly so that they are equipped for the future.
A visit to the forest school can be seamlessly integrated into lessons, as the forest as a learning environment offers the ideal space for skills-orientated teaching in line with the curriculum.
Where is the forest school located?
The forest school is located on the municipal Erlerwiese in Innsbruck's Mühlau district.© Stadt Innsbruck/RK
Here you will find a link to the Waldschule Innsbruck in the city map:
Who can use the Forest School and how can I book it?
A visit to the Innsbruck Forest School and use of the infrastructure is generally possible for all Tyrolean compulsory schools .
Compulsory schools in Innsbruck can book the external environmental education programme at the Forest School, which is financed by the City of Innsbruck, directly online.
Interested compulsory schools can also book the Forest School on a self-organised basis. Six sample exercises are available for teachers to prepare for this. These exercises can be found in the download area for school exercises.
Interested compulsory schools (outside of Innsbruck) should contact the Service Unit Nature and recreation - Forest school for the organisation of the forest school visit.
Download area for school exercises
For teachers who organise the visit to the Forest School themselves, six exercises are available for preparing self-organised lessons:
Forest inventory
The students deepen their knowledge of tree species and are able to recognise the influence of humans and nature as well as climate change on forest development. They develop ideas for the design of a climate-friendly mountain forest and identify species that occur in the forest ecosystem. In addition, the tree population around the forest school is recorded by the pupils in teams and then analysed together.
School level: 3rd/4th grade primary level, 1st/2nd grade secondary level I
Wuschl, time travel and how we can protect the forest
The students develop an understanding of the changes in the forest due to natural developments and human intervention. They look at the future of the forest in their immediate surroundings and develop an understanding of how people must decide and behave today and in the future so that the utopia of a healthy forest becomes a reality. They are playfully accompanied by Wuschl, a time-travelling squirrel.
School level: 2nd-4th primary school
That is valuable
The pupils think about the value of nature and all living creatures. They should thus develop a sense of appreciation for nature, for all living creatures and for themselves and strengthen their interest in protecting them.
School level: from 1st grade primary level
Management of the forest
The pupils develop an understanding of the various functions of the forest, the limits of growth and the need for a climate-friendly mountain forest. The planning and maintenance work behind sustainable forest management is discussed and the pupils can playfully imitate this in teams.
School level: 3rd/4th grade primary level, 1st grade secondary level I
Forest inventory Soil
Pupils deepen their knowledge of forests and soil. They experience the soil with different senses and understand the importance of the soil for the forest and its creatures as well as for humans and develop empathy for forest creatures. They learn through research by exploring the structure of the forest floor, sharing and documenting observations and conclusions.
School level: 3rd/4th grade primary level, 1st/2nd grade lower secondary level
Change of perspective
Pupils experience the forest from the perspective of animals, other creatures and people who have different functions and interests. they recognise what connections exist and what opportunities, challenges and dangers the different creatures face.
School level: 3rd/4th grade lower secondary level, 1st grade upper secondary level
Who are the partners of the Forest School?
The City of Innsbruck's Service Unit Nature and recreation - Forest school aims to give pupils the opportunity to learn outdoors in nature, to move freely, to play, to discover new things and to feel nature and themselves as part of it. Other partners of the forest school are
- Tyrolean Hunters' Association
- Innsbruck Alpine Zoo
- Green School Innsbruck
- Karwendel Nature Park
- Province of Tyrol: Bergwelt Tirol - Experience together
- natopia!
- Other freelance forest, nature and adventure educators
The teachers in the forest school are people who take care of the forest and work in it: Forest workers, botanists, biologists, forest educators, foresters, hunters and rangers.
Funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism, the European Union, EAFRD and the Province of Tyrol.
Data protection information in accordance with Art 13 GDPR for video surveillance
Purpose of processing the personal data collected
Please note that we record personal data (image data) exclusively for the purpose of self-protection (protection of the organisation's property and employees and the protection of responsibility for the fulfilment of traffic safety obligations, contractual liability towards customers, etc.) and for the purpose of preventing, containing and clarifying criminally relevant behaviour. Likewise, this only takes place insofar as the area of responsibility of the person responsible is affected, with exclusive evaluation in the case defined by the purpose by the City of Innsbruck as the person responsible.
City Department Forest and nature
Legal basis for the processing
The legal basis for the processing of personal data (image data) is in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR and §§ 353 ff ABGB (protection of property).
Recipient of the personal data
The personal data (image data) will be passed on to the following third parties if necessary
- competent authority or court and security authorities
- Insurance companies
- Lawyers and other bodies for the purpose of law enforcement
- Employees, witnesses, victims
The data will not be passed on to third parties who pursue their own purposes with this data and no data will be transferred to a third country.
Deletion of personal data
The personal data (image data) will be deleted after 72 hours, except for the preservation of evidence in criminal law cases, for security police purposes, for the preservation of evidence in civil law cases, as part of the enforcement of claims, exclusively for the settlement of insurance claims and for the purpose of law enforcement.
Further information
According to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), all persons have rights in accordance with Art. 15 - 21 GDPR. There is no right to data portability and no right to object to the processing of personal data (image data). As part of a balancing of interests after the objection, it must be assumed that the controller's interest in protecting property (see purpose) outweighs the interest of the data subjects whose data is collected. The reason for this assumption is, in particular, the encryption of the data and the exclusively ad hoc analysis. You can exercise these rights in writing via datenschutz@innsbruck.gv.at with proof of identity. Further information can be found online at www.innsbruck.gv.at. You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority(dsb@dsb.gv.at, www.dsb.gv.at).
This might also interest you:
Contact
Opening hours
Office:
Monday to Friday:
8.00-12.00 and by appointment
Phone:
Monday to Thursday:
8.00-16.00
Friday:
8.00-12.00