Forest4Youth partners embarked on a blended study visit combining online preparation and in-person learning in Germany’s Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania region.
Hosted alongside the 7th International Congress “Forest and Its Potential for Health,” the programme offered a structured path from conceptual grounding to immersive field experience — linking science, certification, and practice in forest-based care.
A Blended Journey of Preparation and Practice
The visit began on 20 August 2025 with an online preparatory workshop introducing the history and certification frameworks of healing forests.
This virtual session allowed partners to align their understanding before travelling, ensuring that everyone arrived in Waren with shared foundations and clear expectations for the on-site component.
A month later, participants gathered in Waren (Müritz) — a lakeside town bordering the UNESCO-listed Müritz National Park, home to Germany’s first certified healing forests.
Welcomed by organisers from BioCon Valley GmbH and Landesforst Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, they began four days of exchanges combining congress sessions, field visits, and collaborative workshops.
Day 1 – Certification and First Encounters with the Forest
The first morning featured a Forest4Youth workshop on certification and methodological exchange, outlining criteria for healing-forest designation and exploring how these standards might be transferred across European contexts.
In the afternoon, participants joined a field tour to the First European Healing Forest in Heringsdorf, witnessing how forestry, medical, and tourism sectors collaborate to maintain certified health forests.
The day ended with an informal evening gathering that set a collegial tone for the days ahead.
Day 2 – Medical Applications and Partner Exchange
The second day opened the ISFT Congress with sessions on medical applications and emerging research in forest therapy, including studies on stress reduction, immune modulation, and mental-health improvement.
Afternoon presentations focused on policy, economics, and ecosystem perspectives, examining how healing-forest certification contributes to regional development and public-health strategy.
The day concluded with a Forest4Youth partner gathering, where the consortium reflected on congress highlights, shared national insights, and coordinated next steps for project implementation.
Day 3 – Innovation, Children’s Health and Project Showcase
Morning sessions explored innovation and tourism, presenting examples of sustainable forest-based health services and new tools for monitoring therapeutic outcomes.
In the afternoon, discussions turned to product development and future perspectives, followed by a symposium on children’s health, connecting educational and paediatric approaches to early-life contact with nature.
Later that day, partners attended a project presentation by Landesforst Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Waldservice und Energie GmbH, where Tomke de Vries shared insights into the ongoing implementation and evaluation of healing-forest models across the region — offering a tangible bridge between policy, management, and practice.
Day 4 – Field Visits and Reflection
The final day unfolded through a sequence of field visits, giving participants first-hand experience of diverse forest settings used for therapeutic, educational, and ecological purposes.
The group visited the Children’s Health Forest in Lohmen, the Climate Forest in Fleesensee, and Klink Forest, each showcasing unique intersections of forest management, public health, and community engagement.
Moving from site to site, partners observed how forest-based care adapts to local needs while embodying a shared European ethos.
Key Learnings
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Healing-forest certification offers a structured yet flexible framework linking nature and health.
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Cross-sector collaboration — from medicine to forestry — is essential for sustainable outcomes.
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Children and adolescents thrive when therapy, learning, and recreation coexist in natural settings.
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Forest4Youth contributes to the growing European movement for nature-based solutions.
Looking Ahead
The blended study visit, from online preparation to immersive exploration in Waren (Müritz), demonstrated the value of connecting knowledge, environment, and collaboration.
For Forest4Youth, it strengthened the bridge between research and real-world practice — offering both inspiration and direction for the future of adolescent mental-health care across North-West Europe.
Forest4Youth is an Interreg North-West Europe initiative co-funded by the European Union (2025 – 2028).