A real education in the heart of nature
Forest school = Nature + Education + Freedom + Creation.
Serpil Orman Okulları is a unique educational institution, from kindergarten to middle school, that combines the curriculum of the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MEB) with a nature-based educational philosophy. The school was founded in Mersin in 2019 on the foundations of Serpil'in Dünyası Kreş.
Our basic approach is to take education beyond the classroom walls: students learn continuously, experientially and through play in natural environments such as the campus, the open-air classrooms and the forest next to the school.
Learning the language of nature
Watch our short video to see the bond children build with nature and what learning on the campus looks like.
“Nature is not a part of education; it is education itself.”Serpil Orman Okulları educational approach
The power of learning in nature
Children who learn in nature do not receive knowledge ready-made; they discover, try, make mistakes and try again. Touching the soil, observing an insect and noticing the changing of the seasons take learning out of abstract concepts and into real life.
Ecological life and responsibility
Producing in the garden, working in the vegetable patch, picking fruit in the food forest and observing living things make children feel ownership of nature. In our school, ecology is not a subject that is taught but a value that is lived together.
Four open-air classrooms in the shade of trees
On the campus there are four open-air classrooms, equipped with tables, benches and boards and named after the trees that shade them: Harnup, Murt, Meşe and Çam.
On the campusMoments from the Forest School
In the forest schoolLearning Areas
For children, nature is not just a playground; it is a powerful teacher that sparks curiosity, deepens learning and builds a bond with life.
Learning in nature
Lessons and activities supported by natural environments; children learn by observing, experiencing and living.
Seasonal learning
Nature and discovery work according to the seasons; noticing change and following the rhythm of nature.
Garden and farming
Sowing, planting and harvesting in a food forest and vegetable garden created on permaculture principles; children who produce.
Composting
Sorting organic waste and returning it to the soil; learning by doing that “waste” is a transformation.
A school in the middle of a pine forest
Wooden structures, stone paths and open-air classrooms.
Origins of theForest School Movement
The forest school movement emerged in Scandinavia in the 1950s, spread across Europe and the United Kingdom over time, and has also gained acceptance in Canada, the USA and Japan. This approach supports children in building a strong bond with the natural world.
- Learner-centred and holistic: balanced development in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains.
- Integrated with the national curriculum: core and subject lessons are linked with nature and across disciplines.
- Focused on 21st-century skills: creative and critical thinking, self-management, cooperation, curiosity and ecological literacy.
- Process-oriented: we teach not what the answers are, but how problems are solved.
On the campusNature and Art
Start your Serpil Orman journey today!
Book an appointment to see our campus in person and ask your questions.
Enquire Now“We believe that children who know nature will protect it.”Serpil Orman Okulları · Ecological Life & Responsibility