OVERVIEW

Hello to everyone! My name is Vassiliki Kobilakou and since childhood, I loved endless walks in the woods with my beloved dog: getting lost in the bosom of a favorite corner, with pine trees hiding the sun, smelling the wet earth, hands sinking in the green moss.

Initially I studied Archeology at the University of Athens precisely so that I could dream next to the earth; discover old traces and human lives in its surroundings. I worked for 11 years at the Benaki Museum of Athens and completed a cross-sectional PhD in Oral History and Emotional History.

A Winter Mountain Climbing School and the first Swedish Forest School but also being a mother, helped me find my own path which led to Forest Pedagogy. Eight years ago I lunched the first Forest School in Greece, ‘Pefkites’ (www.pefkites.gr) with great help from people all around the world!

THE VISION

Among other things, Forest Schools contribute greatly in saving our forests! Children in Forest Schools experience deeply that forests are living creatures and need to be protected!

Forest fires all over the world destroy Mother Nature’s lungs! Last year in Greece 125.000 acres of forest were burned down to ashes only in Evia!

Last year’s fires destroyed also our forest area in which we used to hold our sessions. During my sad “exploration” in the burned forest of Parnitha, my steps inevitably brought me to the plane tree that was our “Sanctuary”. There I was surprised to see hanging intact with its red thread, a bushcraft ornament that the children had made last May!

All of the forest had been burned, but the children’s creation had remained untouched as a promise…!

This experience was a catalyst in the decision of buying a piece of land in a high mountain, Oiti, among the firs, 2 hours away from Athens and establishing there a Forest Retreat, the ‘Black Squirrel’s Cottage’!

WHAT WE NEED AND WHAT YOU GET

At this point we have bought the land and we have a cement basis for our log house which is already designed and remains to be built!

So we need to raise at least 70.000 € for building this dreamy Forest Retreat into the heart of a magnificent fir forest, in Oiti, nearby the Pavliani village in Fthiotida of Greece!

This small wooden building that we want to construct, will give hospitality to small groups of children or adults who want to experience the life into a forest. This experience will give them calm and peace and introduce them into another way of life away from our busy city lives.

By contributing to this project you will have the chance of experiencing firsthand the positive effect that Forest Scholl has on our children.

The Forest Retreat is on an altitude of 1100 meters and offers innumerable opportunities of trekking, hiking and even mountain cycling!

The nearby village of Pavliani is a delight to see with its artistic interventions and its forest “Theme Park” where locals have created all kinds of activities!

A unique experience offers also the natural hot springs (thermal baths) of Thermopiles at a 30 minutes distance. You can swim at the nearby sea, have a curative bath at Thermopiles and return to the refreshing forest on the mountain!  

Contributors will also have the chance of experiencing a guided Forest Bathing, an ancient Japanese tradition of relaxation and healing in the woods.

We shall be able also to offer retreats to writers and artists from all around the world who want to find inspiration and a sense of freedom up to the Greek high mountains!

THE IMPACT

“Let your kids go wild outside” (Fiona Bird)

For children:

In our Forest Retreat in Pavliani we will apply the principles of a global reform movement, namely, that of Forest Scholl. This pedagogy aims at the full development of children’s emotions, their kinetic integration and the cultivation of respect for the human being and nature. This can be ideally accomplished in the natural environment, experimentally, freely and “without walls”.

For adults:

The impact of a day spent into the forest through experiential free learning, botanological walks by eating edible plants of the forest, bushcraft and art of land, is already well known and has been called Forest Bathing or Shinrin-yoku. Our senses open through the peace and quiet of the forest and also by the narrative of myths and legends of old times.

For all of us:

Re-green our lives through permaculture projects, by eating biological fruits and experiencing the joy of fresh food, baking bread and finding inspiration in what we are doing through our re-connection to Μother Nature which is so much needed in this time of global crisis.

If we want Earth’s lungs to be working properly for future generations we need to save our forests!

We can start small by building this Forest Retreat and experience the living forest from deep within!

CHALLENGES

It is vital to create the Black Squirrel Forest Retreat even though we don’t expect to raise all necessary funds from contributors. Still, we are determined to find the sources needed and overcome all obstacles!

Please join us in this effort!