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Triinu Laar Mailis Saealle Kevin-Kristjan Koppel Berit Aren While Tartu was hit by heavy rain and the summer water level of the Emajõgi River reached autumn levels, the Vormsi group of the Tartu Youth Work Camp tidied up the Borbby-Kerslinina hiking trails in sunny Vormsi and got acquainted with island life. The youth work camp group stayed on the island for nine days. As it was a science youth work camp group, on the second day, they investigated springs and Lake Prästvike. Jaanus Terasmaa, Professor of Ecohydrology at Tallinn University, gave an overview of the formation and types of springs and introduced the websites www.allikad.info and www.veestik.info. Under the guidance of Maarja Koppelmaa and Triinu Laar, observations were made at Suurallikas, Lubjaallikas, and Raviallikas springs, and Lake Prästvike, and the data was added to the aforementioned websites. After completing the Suurallikas hiking trail, they went to the Jaaniste family at Mõisaholm, where they worked…

Young people often think that when they come to the youth center, a multi-hour program of activities planned by youth workers awaits them. However, upon arrival, it turns out that the youth center is primarily an opportunity, not a set activity, and young people often need to find things to do for themselves. Although there is at least one central activity planned by youth workers every day at the youth center, such as cooking, outdoor activities, drawing, etc., this activity usually does not take up the entire opening hours of the youth center. Young people have several hours to fill as they see fit. Young people often wander around the youth room and say they are bored; as a result, we have always directed them to the board game shelves, and sometimes they do find...

Almost a year ago, some of our team had the opportunity to go on a study trip to Iceland through Erasmus+ funding. This gave us the opportunity to visit local youth centers in the capital, Reykjavik. We got to meet their staff, see what their youth centers look like, and learn about youth work there. One of the main things that caught most of our attention was that the interior of these centers was very homely and creative – there were lots of pictures, drawings, paintings, and graffiti on the walls, all made by the young people themselves. This made us, especially the Lille team, think about whether and how we could bring more of the young people's own creativity into our youth center. So far, we have...

Although board games are otherwise timelessly popular among our youth, Tartu's rainy summer has initiated a board game marathon at the Ilmatsalu Youth Center. A traditional board game serves as a beacon of communication and a source of cognitive development for children. The benefits of board games extend beyond simple entertainment, offering numerous advantages that contribute to a child's growth. Even the simplest games like Halli Cups and Dobble help young players recognize colors, count shapes, and develop hand-eye coordination as they move cups across the board. Strategy games can be particularly beneficial for older children, such as the youth center's favorite Rummy, which helps develop the frontal lobes of the brain responsible for executive functions like planning, organizing, and decision-making. Board games...

At Tartu Youth Work Centre, pets are frequent guests: primarily Jack Russell terrier Jessa at Anneke, Pinto at Lilleke, and for example, basenji Maze at other centres. Recently, reading dog Yohanna visited us on Autovabaduse Boulevard, but young people's own pets have also visited, and during some school holidays, biologist Mirjam Zautina has introduced her exotic animals. Several studies have confirmed the positive impact of pets on the work environment and on children and young people. For example, a pet in the workplace helps boost employees' mood and supports the creation of interpersonal bonds (Atla, 2020). Increased engagement and dedication to work have also been observed (Hall and Mills 2019, 10). In the case of children and young people, it is important to note that pets can contribute to their healthy…

Many don't know that one of the coolest clubs at the youth center is the cooking club. At first glance, it might seem like there's nothing special – just cooking and eating. But in reality, there's much more to the cooking club. Read nine reasons what young people gain and learn through cooking club activities: 1. Financial literacy During cooking club activities, young people learn about budgeting, saving tips, price comparison, and product quality. We also discuss whether the cheapest product is beneficial for health or if it's better to buy something a bit more expensive but of higher quality. And conversely, is a more expensive product always better than a cheaper one? Minced meat that seems cheap at first glance turns out to be more expensive after checking the price per kilo. Young people learn to compile shopping lists…

Right from the start of Lillekese Youth Center's operations, young people showed great interest in baking. We support their desire to cook with a cooking club, but cooking is also one of the most popular activities on Active Youth Day. At first, it worked well when young people let us know a week in advance what recipe they wanted to introduce to others on Active Youth Day, including what they needed to buy from the store. However, when we ran out of ideas at one point, we decided to take a more spontaneous approach and stock up on products during shopping trips that could generally be found in our own kitchen. If there were no activities planned for the Enterprising Youth Day, we let the young people know that they were free to use whatever products were available in the kitchen...

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Kus oleks parem veeta koos noortel aega ja meelerahu praktiseerida, kui looduslähedases kohas, mis seob teineteist? Juuli esimesel nädalal kogunesid Eesti, Leedu ja Hispaania noored kaunisse loodusesse, et osaleda eriliselt sisukal noortevahetusel. Rahvusvaheline noortevahetus on erinevate Euroopa riikide noorte omavaheline kohtumine, mille raames noored õpivad enda jaoks olulisi teemasid ning samuti nii enda kui ka teiste osalejate kohta palju uut. Meie projekti teemaks oli "Mindful youth and Well-Being" ehk teadlikud noored ja heaolu. Sündmus toimus Elva lähistel Tartumaa tervise- ja spordikeskuses, pakkudes osalejatele rahulikku ja vaikset keskkonda, mis aitas kaasa projekti teemasse sisse elamiseks. Projekti peamiseks eesmärgiks oli noorte…

Imagine a summer day where creativity flies freely like birds in the sky, where every young person can be an inventor, a game master, and an adventure seeker. Such were our summer days at Ilmatsalu Youth Centre! Throughout the summer, our days are filled with laughter, discoveries, and challenges. Let's take a moment to look back at those colourful and meaningful summer days, which proved that youth creativity is boundless and summer is the best time to express it. One day, the young people put their imagination to work. They created their own murder mystery and a jar with various questions. These provided joy and excitement for all participants. The day an obstacle course was built was active for both young people and youth workers. The young people created a very exciting course where they had to climb and...