Specific proposals to national and regional public authorities for the implementation of the European Landscape Convention through the promotion of landscape education in primary and secondary schools

Landscape Dimensions - Reflections and proposals for the implementation of the European Landscape Convention

Annalisa Calcagno Maniglio, avril 2017

The « special measures » (Article 6.B) set out by the European Landscape Convention concern the aspects that each Party undertakes to promote: « school and university teaching in the relevant disciplines on the values attached to landscape and on issues relating to its protection, management and planning ». The main aim of these measures is to persuade administrators to adopt the methods and instruments needed to integrate the landscape dimension into school (and university) curricula, providing knowledge of landscapes, their values, characteristics and evolutionary processes in their various social, ecological and economic dimensions, with a view to making a better contribution to their sustainable development. The European Landscape Convention seeks to precede the necessary and important work of raising public awareness of the landscape dimension with training and education in schools and universities at European level, « addressing, in the relevant disciplines, the values attached to landscapes and the issues relating to their protection, management and planning ». Following the observations contained in the conclusions of this report, it is advisable to send the competent national and regional authorities a short list of proposals which may meet the provisions and objectives of Article 6 of the European Landscape Convention:

• to introduce landscape education into primary and secondary school curricula to enable the acquisition of an understanding of its values, characteristics, importance and role in the quality of life of the population

• promote school teaching characterised by activities necessary for understanding and knowledge of landscape; landscape cannot be considered as a specific subject but is of interest to several disciplines that study and analyse it in its various aspects

• encourage adequate training of teachers in order to pass on to secondary school pupils, in particular, the knowledge fundamental to the knowledge of landscape; have landscape specialists prepare a manual of methods for disseminating knowledge useful to teachers’ activities;

• encourage direct knowledge not only of the usual landscape known and frequented by pupils, but also of other landscapes with different characteristics and qualities; provide schools with audiovisual material and tools useful for developing and updating knowledge of landscapes;

• to encourage secondary school students to participate and get involved in projects and plans to improve landscape issues in the community of residence.

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