Questions and answers about the Nature School Days in autumn 2022

Why does the Nature School Day cost nothing to Salo schools?

Teijo Nature School was founded (5/2021) and is maintained by the Teijo Area Village Association . The nature school has a part-time environmental educator. In order to establish the operations of Teijo Nature School, the Village Association applied for and received a project grant from the Ministry of the Environment's administrative branch of environmental education and awareness . With the project grant and the Village Association's own funding, the nature school's operations will be able to continue until the end of the 2023-2024 school year. A small part of the project grant has been reserved for transportation for groups of students from Salo. To establish the operations, the Village Association is cooperating with the city. 10-15 free nature school days are reserved for Salo primary schools per semester.

Who pays for the transportation?

In the initial phase, an amount has been reserved from the project grant for transportation, which will enable a round-trip Paikku trip (max. €100) for about 10 groups of children to Teijo in the autumn of 2022. The transportation reimbursements for 2023 will be decided after the experiences in the autumn. At the nature school, we prefer public transport, which is also required by the project conditions. If the school comes to the nature school by chartered transport, the transport operator can send a €100 invoice to the Teijo Area Village Association and the school pays the remaining amount itself. (Or the school pays for the bus in full and the city then invoices the Village Association for a share of €100.)

• We have found a working model for organizing free Paikku tickets for schools, which we will inform teachers who have made reservations about in detail. Teachers can pick up their group's tickets at the City Hall information desk during its opening hours (Mon-Thu 8:00-16:00, Fri 8:00-14:45).

When can student groups come to Teijo Nature School?

We are accepting groups on Wednesdays and Thursdays in September and October. We have opened 14 dates in the calendar (the first of which are already booked). We will aim to reimburse the first ten groups who book their transport, up to a maximum of €100/group.

When does the nature school day start and end?

For technical reasons, the booking calendar shows the time as 9-13. Our environmental educator will discuss the start and end times with the visiting class teacher and will, for example, arrange the start time to suit the transport schedule. We recommend four hours for the day so that you can spend time in nature without rushing.

How large a group can come to the nature school?

The group can preferably have fewer than 25 students, but by separate agreement, groups of 25-30 children are also accepted. One group can come to the nature school at a time, but such a group can be assembled from two different age groups (3rd & 4th or 5th & 6th together), if the group size remains within the given limits. Please indicate the name of the school, grade level and group size in the "Message to employee" field of the registration form .

How do I get to Teijo Nature School?

Teijo Nature School recommends using public transport, i.e. Paiku, and the city of Salo also hopes for this. Paiku line 3 runs to Teijo, which departs from Ollikkalata, continues via the bus station and hospital to Viitannummi and along Merikulmantie to Teijo. Buses run once an hour on school days. The journey time from the bus station is half an hour. In Teijo, the nature school day starts next to the bus stop at the beginning of Teijontie.

Who arranges the transportation?

Transportation is arranged by the ordering school/teacher.

Can multiple groups come from the same school?

Yes, but the transportation compensation only applies to the group that was booked first. Our goal is that as many primary schools in Salo as possible can attend Teijo Nature School. However, if there are free times in the booking calendar, the lesson is also free for another group coming from the school. You can inquire about the situation by email at luontokoulu(ät)teijo.fi. Our environmental educator mainly answers emails on Wednesdays and Thursdays.