Cooperativa Ser Natureza

Cooperativa Ser Natureza runs Projeto Interser, an educational programme for children aged 6 to 13 in Terroso, Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. It offers experiences that bring young people into direct contact with nature, so they don't know the world only "through car windows", as one of the project's directors has put it in interviews. The cooperative has a physical space in Terroso where its activities, encounters and programmes take place. It also publishes a monthly magazine that keeps its community informed about ongoing initiatives. The project is built around reconnection between species and with nature, both inner and outer. Its work rests on three pillars: education, health and ecology. It wants to foster a healthy, ecological community living in balance with the natural world, and it encourages participants of all ages to deepen their relationship with nature and with other species. Through its programmes, its space and its magazine, it works to raise ecological awareness, support health and renew the connection between people, other species and the environment. Education is the main route it sees to lasting change in how communities relate to nature. Local media and radio have covered the project, and its co-founder has talked there about the ideas behind it and its educational work in Póvoa de Varzim.