ECOTHERAPY

The Ecotherapy project is an innovative initiative within the scope of Erasmus+ Youth Exchange, aiming for young people to develop intercultural dialogue, acquire sustainable life skills and increase their psychological resilience in a nature-based learning environment. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have left deep scars on young people, creating negative conditions such as focus problems, lack of self-regulation and increased psychological stress. The pandemic has challenged individuals both physically and mentally, making the negative effects of a lifestyle disconnected from nature even more pronounced. Ecotherapy aims to support the individual and social transformation of young people by using the healing and instructive power of nature as a tool to find solutions to these problems.
Objectives
- Young people gain sustainable life skills through nature-based practices.
- Strengthening intercultural dialogue through empathy, tolerance and solidarity experiences of young people from different cultures.
- Developing self-awareness and psychological resilience by reducing the psychological effects of Covid-19.
- Adopting a lifestyle in harmony with nature by increasing environmental awareness.
The Ecotherapy project aims for young people to gain important skills on an individual and societal level. Bringing together young people from different cultures to experience values such as empathy, tolerance and solidarity will strengthen intercultural dialogue. Taking into account the psychological effects of Covid-19 and the consequences of social isolation, the project aims to enable young people to gain self-awareness and increase their psychological resilience in the process. Nature-based practices increase environmental awareness by providing sustainable living skills and encourage young people to adopt a lifestyle in harmony with nature.
Methodology
The project is based on a nature-based “learning by doing” and transformation methodology that combines theoretical knowledge with practical experiences. Activities such as mindfulness sessions, nature walks, seeding future plans into the soil through planting saplings and group therapies are included in the program to find solutions to individual focus problems and self-regulation deficiencies caused by Covid-19. Participants interact directly with nature and base their learning processes on an experiential basis. Furthermore, activities such as cultural sharing nights and permaculture workshops are designed not only for individual development but also to support group dynamics and collaboration.
Outputs
At the end of the project, participants are expected to reconnect with nature, gain self-awareness and reduce the psychological effects of the pandemic. Having gained knowledge and experience in sustainable living skills and environmental awareness, young people will disseminate this knowledge by applying what they have learned in their communities. By strengthening the bonds of intercultural dialogue and cooperation, young people's empathy and understanding skills will increase. The skills gained in this process will contribute to participants becoming healthier and more focused individuals in their daily lives. On the other hand, each participant group will shoot vlogs at the end of each activity and the videos they shoot will be used as project outputs. The learning processes will be documented with Youthpass, so that the individual development of the participants will be recognized in a concrete way.

Impact
The Ecotherapy project aims to contribute to the individual and social transformation of young people with its long-term impact. In a post-pandemic world, reconnecting young people with nature, increasing their psychological resilience and adopting a sustainable lifestyle are among the main outcomes of the project. Participants will take what they have learned back to their local communities and start nature-based initiatives, which will ensure that the impact of the project reaches a wider audience. Project outputs to be shared through digital platforms will raise awareness on nature-based approaches and enable young people to act more consciously on environmental sustainability issues.
In summary, Ecotherapy is an innovative project that embodies the intercultural dialogue, inclusion and sustainability objectives of the Youth Exchange call. Aiming to find solutions to the problems of focus and self-regulation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic with the healing power of nature, this project supports the individual development of young people, making them more conscious leaders. The project creates a meaningful transformation at both the individual and societal level, setting a strong example that brings the call values to life.