Welcome to the fourth edition of the ᴇNᴀBʟS newsletter! Since our last update, our mission to mainstream biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) across Higher Education as well as Higher Education and Vocational and Technical Education and Training (VET/TVET) has reached pivotal milestones. Across Europe, our Living Labs and collaborative networks are delivering actionable frameworks, localised pedagogical tools, and open-access resources designed to embed NBS into mainstream learning and professional practice.
In this issue, we highlight our newly released Teacher Training Guide and VET learning modules, along with key takeaways from our "NBS Landscape" campaign. We also invite you to navigate through the expanded ᴇNᴀBʟS Platform on Oppla, featuring our repository of resources, open datasets, and blog articles. Finally, you will find details on upcoming events and exciting updates from our partner projects.
New Resources Supporting Teachers in Bringing Nature-Based Solutions into Learning
To support VET educators, vocational providers, and adult learning practitioners in mainstreaming NBS, ᴇNᴀBʟS has released a comprehensive Teacher Training Guide featuring two adaptable learning modules:
Module 1: Fundamentals of NBS for VET — Designed primarily for initial VET learners, this module uses a guided exploration of a public green space to introduce core concepts through observation, experimentation, and collaborative design.
Module 2: NBS in Practice: Municipal Development — Aimed at continuing VET and adult learners, this module uses a "Climate Walk" format where participants visit real sites and engage with local municipal stakeholders to tackle urban climate challenges.
To ensure broad local adoption, the Teacher Training Guide (which embeds the full modules) is available in English, Czech, German, Greek, Finnish, Lithuanian, and Dutch.
At the core of these resources are three key pedagogical approaches inspired by our Living Lab work: walking pedagogy, challenge-based, and tactile learning. Every activity is structured to foster at least one of the 12 sustainability competencies from the European GreenComp framework
The NBS Landscape: Key Takeaways from Our Assessment
What does the current landscape of NBS truly look like? To uncover key challenges and opportunities across Europe, ᴇNᴀBʟS conducted a comprehensive assessment, mapping the critical intersections between biodiversity action, higher education/TVET institutions, and public perception.
Trends & Status: An overview of the current status and trends in addressing biodiversity loss through NBS.
The Education Frontier: A look at how current biodiversity loss and NBS approaches are being integrated into Higher Education and TVET.
The Power of Networks: Key insights into networking and collaboration patterns among universities, as well as university-TVET partnerships.
Public Awareness & Perception: Findings on how society perceives biodiversity loss and NBS.
To make these extensive findings quick and accessible, we have created a series of short, bite-sized videos summarising each report.
The ᴇNᴀBʟS Platform: An Expanding Hub for NBS Resources
Hosted as a dedicated microsite within Oppla, the ᴇNᴀBʟS Platform has significantly expanded into a comprehensive repository for resource sharing, consultation, and long-term project legacy. Designed to ensure that all project outcomes remain freely accessible to educators, researchers, and practitioners well into the future, the repository brings together.
Resources: Practical educational guides, course materials, and curriculum frameworks.
Datasets: Open data and research findings generated across our project activities.
Blog Articles: First-hand insights, pedagogical reflections, and updates from our partners and Living Labs
International Policy Workshop: Policy Recommendations on NBS for Education
23 September 2026 | Brussels, Belgium
ᴇNᴀBʟS is hosting a flagship policy event in Brussels, bringing together European policymakers, regional authorities, educators, and practitioners to shape the future of green education. Building on insights from the project’s national Living Lab workshops across Europe, the event will present key policy recommendations for integrating NBS directly into Higher Education and TVET/VET institutions. Read more.
3rd International Conference on The Transformative Economy
7–9 October 2026 | Yerevan, Armenia
ᴇNᴀBʟS and the EcoServ project are teaming up to contribute to a dedicated thematic session at the 3rd International Conference on The Transformative Economy. Titled “Sustainable Ecosystem Management and Nature-Based Solutions,” the session will highlight ecosystem-based approaches, biodiversity conservation, and NBS as essential drivers for addressing today’s environmental and socio-economic challenges. Read more.
Outdoor Conference: Exploring More-than-Human Ecologies of Learning for Deep Environmental Care
28 October 2026 | The Paradise, Netherlands
ᴇNᴀBʟS has partnered with Into the Wild and Wageningen University & Research to co-host the first Wild Pedagogies Gathering in the Netherlands. Celebrating the milestone PhD defense of Reineke van Tol (WUR) on Wild Pedagogies, the event invites participants to exchange practical approaches and explore how more-than-human learning environments can reshape education and deepen environmental care. Read more.
Interesting News from Our Partner Projects
ENFORCE's new publication brings together perspectives on the legal dimensions of citizen science, including its role in environmental monitoring, evidence gathering, and compliance. Published in Spanish, the book is the result of the First International Conference on Citizen Science and Law, coordinated by the University of Málaga’s Faculty of Law. Together, the contributions reflect a central question within ENFORCE: how can citizen-generated environmental data become meaningful, reliable, and usable within legal and regulatory frameworks? Read more.
After three years of work and collaboration, NBS Academy has reached the end of its journey, leaving behind a valuable legacy for Nature-Based Solutions education. Its website remains a rich source of freely available practical resources, including the Educational Framework, the Train-the-Trainer Toolkit, modular courses for teacher education, the MOOC and much more, supporting educators, teacher trainers and other stakeholders in integrating NBS into teaching and learning. Visit the website.
Across Europe, wetlands are among the ecosystems most threatened by human activity. They store carbon, support biodiversity and provide essential services to society. Yet protecting them is not simply a scientific or environmental challenge. It is a question of governance: who makes decisions about these ecosystems, whose interests shape those decisions, and who is responsible for preventing damage before it becomes irreversible? REWET’s final documentary, “Empty” Lands: Wetlands, Power and Governance, looks beyond restoration science to explore the decisions, interests and power structures that shape the future of Europe’s wetlands. Watch the documentary.
The first DesirMED Festival will take place on 25–26 September in Larnaka, Cyprus alongside the Mediterranean Coast Day (25 September). The Festival, with the title "The Mediterranean we desire", creates a unique opportunity to engage citizens, policymakers and local communities on climate adaptation and NBS in the Mediterranean region. Learn more.
The Priodiversity LIFE project is making strong progress in North Savo, Finland, with stakeholder workshops advancing the regional biodiversity programme (LUMO) and restoration efforts already resulting in the first restored streams and mires. Nationally, focus is growing on the EU Nature Restoration Regulation and Finland’s National Restoration Plan, alongside the upcoming launch of the ennallista.fi website, which will serve as a central hub for restoration information. Learn more.
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
