Slunečnice (Sunflower) - Centre for Ecological Education (CEE) in Horní Krupá

A new CEE Slunečnice is being formed in District Havlíčkův Brod on the Czech Highlands (central part of Czech Republic).  The centre has its home in an old country school, which is since 1918 after uniting with the Lutheran Church the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in Horní Krupá. This happened after the „Tolerance edict“ which allowed two of the protestant confessions. The school was run until 1930. Since 2009, the first part of the reconstructions (cca 100 m2) of the school building has been done. One of the classrooms will be opened in September 2010. 

Currently, we are preparing environmental programs for kindergartens, basic schools and secondary schools, using the natural neighbourhood of the school for the education. The programs will be implemented primarily as one-day programs. 

The educational programs are focused on so called “deep ecology” which refers mainly to human relation to ethic values and to human searching for the sense of life and also to man´s relationship to his own landscape and which wants to describe the human life in its wholeness. 

The programs are also inspired by the testimony of Bible and by Christian values. The programs are supposed to be modified and applied for both ordinary and church schools.

The main mission of the Centre and its programs is the personal experience of thankfulness and humility face to the Creator and to his creation. Our target is to make people’s eyes open for the contact with the ordinary (so called “agricultural”) landscape where the man is as a housekeeper and caretaker.

The front project which is currently run is the building of the nature trail named „Behind the village backyards“, which includes interactive boards, wooden benches in shape of various animals etc. Our visitors can go through the trail with the printed guide consisting of interactive tasks and spiritual meditations, as well.

In September 2010, 75% of the natural trail is supposed to be finished. Moreover, the building of the trail includes also the revitalisation of the old hollowed-out farmer track which has been recently filled up with the waste.
The centre organizes also many public activities built on the idea of fostering the old country habits and trades which are necessary for keeping the memory of the landscape and of the human beings.

The regular activity of the Centre is a leisure biological club for children from local basic schools. Our lessons are focused on local nature (in close neighbourhood), on botanical, zoological and other trips, creative art activities.  In the Centre, we prepare the celebration of the Earth day and the Tree day.  We organize summer holiday camps and work camps for youth.

Other tasks of the Centre are: finishing the nature trail „Behind the village backyards“, building a school garden, organizing other educational and leisure activities for public, establishing international contacts and new partnerships, building up rooms for accommodation and a dining room for our visitors and a space for creative workshops. 

With (the) international partners, we would like to share experiences on the field of environmental education for churches and for whole the society as well. In spite of the distance, we could organize projects together such as teaching the traditional crafts of each country, educational programs for believers and as well as for non-believers, we could realize an exchange stay, and together, we could search for innovations, for new forms and contents of the environmental formation inspired by the Christian faith.

Contact: david.sorm@semcr.cz  , www.slunecnice.semcr.cz