Led by the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies at the University of Eastern Finland, the new Nordskills project is developing self-sufficiency education in Finnish and Swedish schools. Eco-clubs to be set up in schools are central to self-sufficiency education, as they allow participants to engage in farm-to-fork practices. Young people will gain in-depth understanding of the needs and potential of self-sufficient agriculture, foraging, processing and consumption.
“We live in an era of weakening relationships with nature but also growing insecurities. The project aims to strengthen young people’s appreciation of Nordic nature and its potentials, as well as their skills in making use of them. This consequently aims to enhance the capacity of young people in the Nordic region to adapt to climate change and other crises,” says Associate Professor Moritz Albrecht, the leader of the project.
The project will also provide hands-on educational modules on self-sufficiency related to the use of wild foods, regenerative DIY aquaculture, and repair and reuse of everyday items.
This aims to increase the adoption of self-sufficiency skills at various school levels. The methods and models for self-sufficiency education tested in the project will also be assessed pedagogically, and they will be further developed in collaboration with teachers, young people and educational experts.
In particular, the project focuses on learner-centred environmental education, and eco-clubs that are set up in various schools will play an important role in achieving the project’s objectives. The activities were launched in November 2025 at the School of Eastern Finland in Joensuu, where the first self-sufficiency eco-club was established.
The eco-club at the School of Eastern Finland is an extracurricular activity for pupils in grades 5 and 6, and it will serve as one of the pilot clubs of the project, together with an eco-club established jointly by two primary schools in Maalahti, and with an eco-club established in the Umeå Nature School (Sweden). In addition, shorter workshops on self-sufficiency education are planned and tested in the partner schools, after which they will be implemented in other schools in Finland and Sweden.
In the Nordskills project, young people will learn about self-sufficiency skills, such as growing, collecting and preserving food in Nordic conditions. They share their experiences across borders through various digital platforms, including a self-sufficiency story portal. The project will also develop a virtual learning environment and a Nordic escape-room game about self-sufficiency.
The overall budget of the Nordskills project amounts to 1,058,319 euros. The project is mainly funded by the Interreg Aurora programme, with additional funding from Region Västerbotten in Sweden and the Regional Council of Lapland in Finland.
The project is coordinated by the University of Eastern Finland, and the partners are Aktion Österbotten (Vaasa), the Joensuu Cultural Association within the Association for Rural Culture and Education, the Umeå Municipality, and Umeå University. The University of Eastern Finland and Umeå University will be responsible for providing academic expertise for environmental pedagogics, as well as for the scientific evaluation and design of learning tools, while the other partners will contribute practical environmental education and self-sufficiency expertise to the project.
For further information, please contact:
Associate Professor Moritz Albrecht, tel. +358 50 337 1783, moritz.albrecht(at)uef.fi