The new school year brings welcome news for the environment: the Education Act (LOMLOE) has been enacted, incorporating teacher training in sustainability and embedding education for sustainable development into the curriculum. Yet Spain has a track record of environmental learning in classrooms. Naturaliza has spent three years training teachers at no cost, equipping them with tools and methodologies to instill environmental values in their students.
Approximately 1,900 teachers have already taken part in this initiative, which Ecoembes supports. The program demonstrates that environmental education does more than raise climate-awareness among citizens; it also motivates and engages students through hands-on activities such as outdoor excursions, schoolyard projects, recycling campaigns, and artistic explorations of local flora and fauna.
The value of trying in class
Some participating educators highlight that environmental education should be a cross-cutting approach rather than a one-off lesson. It means shifting from rote memorization to practical, experiment-driven learning and connecting environmental protection to every subject and level. Lola Naranjo, a teacher at CEIP Federico Romero in La Solana, emphasizes this shift.
In her center, they reimagined a zarzuela performance, La Rosa de Azafrán, as a lens to analyze Lope de Vega’s poetry and the Manchego landscapes. They also explore trees as depicted by renowned painters or create Christmas ads that feature local, healthy produce. A school garden and field trips are part of the routine, and there is a push to overcome fears about leaving the classroom to explore. This is the spirit Naranjo describes.
The commitment to the environment
For Pablo José Sánchez Fernández of La Milagrosa School in Oviedo, joining Naturaliza marked a clear before-and-after, thanks to the resources and methodologies delivered. The school promotes recycling not only of packaging and paper but also of pens, batteries, glasses, toothbrushes, mobile phones, and more under the banner La Milagrosa se-para por el medioambiente.
Three volunteer projects launch each term to foster hands-on learning. As Sánchez notes, experience teaches much more than theory, and environmental math concepts become a source of motivation and fun.
The schoolyard at CEIP Ortega y Gasset in Ceuta is highlighted as a vivid example of practical environment-focused learning. The Jardín de las Hespérides, a 140-square-meter green space with micro-habitats like wetlands, serves as a nature-open classroom where students learn by doing. It demonstrates that natural sciences can be integrated across subjects such as language, English, and the arts, according to Professor Juan Carlos Navarro.
The project confirms several key insights: the importance of renaturalizing schools, the effectiveness of removing students from the classroom for meaningful learning, and the sensory weight of hands-on exploration. Smelling and touching aromatic plants makes learning endure. This aligns with the overarching aim of the new law and signals progress in the country’s environmental awareness. Early-adopter teachers are guiding the way forward.
Naturaliza: building a sustainable future
Through the Naturaliza training supported by Ecoembes, around 84,000 primary students from 1,000 schools nationwide engaged with issues such as air pollution, biodiversity loss, drought, desertification, climate change, and the need for sustainable living. This collective effort contributes to shaping a more sustainable future. (Source: Naturaliza)
Educators who want to join the Naturaliza network can do so at no cost via the project’s website. This platform provides access to a library of more than 2,000 classroom resources, training, and ongoing guidance from a team of experts. (Source: Naturaliza)
With the new LOmLOE, environmental education gains additional prominence in the school curriculum, stressing the importance of protecting and caring for the surrounding environment. The partners behind Naturaliza welcome these steps and remain committed to offering tools and training to teachers who have long participated in integrating an environmental perspective into classrooms. (Source: Naturaliza)