Our environment fundamentally shapes how we learn and how effectively we share knowledge. In the shadow of climate change, environmental education has become perhaps the most vital field of modern pedagogy – essential if humanity is to weather the coming decades and centuries. Episode 9 of the first season of the Knowledge Hub podcast explores outdoor learning environments – connecting space, learning, and knowledge management. Our guests are Erika Saly, President of the Hungarian Society for Environmental Education, primary teacher, environmental educator, and education sciences specialist, and András Victor, Honorary President of the same Society, a biology–chemistry teacher, Doctor of Education, and author of numerous books, textbooks, and national strategies. Through stories and vivid examples, they share the practice of environmental education from the perspective of two outstanding professionals.

Manófalva – A Living Classroom

Erika Saly first created her own environmental education site with the help of colleagues, pupils, and parents. They purchased a 100-year-old farmhouse in Dévaványa, Békés county, and transformed it into a learning space tailored to their needs – the Manófalva House. Here, children could do pottery, bake bread, climb trees, or simply follow their curiosity. Erika’s experience shows that children’s “hearts and souls are green”, making it natural to take this path together. Learning expanded beyond the school walls into forests, meadows, and stream banks. She never ordered textbooks for environmental studies, crafts, or art – insisting that “the textbook is all around us.” This not only enriched learning but also freed valuable time: without workbooks and rigid curricula, there was space to truly discover the world.

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Building community for the environment

András Victor’s journey with the Society began through a call for proposals: teachers were invited to describe their environmental education practices. By 1990, this initiative had already gathered 120–130 participants, leading to the foundation of the Hungarian Society for Environmental Education. Today, the Society runs numerous programmes, visible in the growing number of eco-schools and sustainability initiatives.
As Erika highlights, the real strength lies in community: a “gathering of those who want to act.” Members not only share values but also support each other – from organising travelling nature trails on pollinators, climate, and water, to entire school staffs committing to eco-school training. Such collective engagement dramatically increases the chances of genuine transformation.

From awareness to action

It is no longer enough to inform – we must empower people to act

– stresses Erika. This philosophy shaped the “Go Green” training, a 40-hour online course in which participants carry out real actions during the programme itself. Encouragingly, more early childhood educators are enrolling, recognising the importance of shaping attitudes from the very beginning.

András points out that many environmental educators step out of their comfort zones because they know

this is not a game

– the Earth’s future depends on their work. Yet he remains frustrated: after 30 years of tireless effort, humanity has not turned the tide. Still, small victories matter. Erika recalls how her students once phoned her about protected trees being cut. By the time she arrived, the children had recorded the incident, alerted local representatives, and even stopped utility workers from proceeding. These moments – when young people take responsibility for their environment – are priceless.

What does environmental education look like?

According to András, it always begins with shaping attitudes. In one camp, a wasp nest near the dining tent tested the children’s patience for days. In the end, they concluded: “the wasps were here first,” learning to coexist despite discomfort.

Erika adds that example is the foundation: children observe how adults marvel at nature, or carefully release a bug outdoors without harming it. Soon, they imitate these acts instinctively. Sometimes, children even teach their parents – encouraging composting or adopting sustainable habits at home.

Empathy is key. András recalls an exercise abroad in which participants imagined themselves as elements of nature for an entire day – stone, tree, or river. With the added depth of a vow of silence, it became a transformative experience of feeling oneself as part of nature, not above it.

The role of teacher training

Environmental education must move beyond specialist circles and become integral to every teacher’s work. Encouragingly, teacher training programmes are beginning to integrate these themes. More interdisciplinary projects would help students connect knowledge across subjects, making learning both more practical and more holistic.

As Erika notes, even small beginnings matter:

dare to stay small.

Regular projects and knowledge-sharing groups within schools not only embed good practices but also foster collaboration and the growth of genuine learning communities.

Closing Reflection

As a teacher, educator, or school leader – what makes you unique? Do you have knowledge or skills that make you indispensable? Then you are a critical knowledge-holder.

Discover how your group can become a true knowledge community by listening to the latest episode of the Knowledge Hub podcast!

Members of the episode:

Erika Saly – Primary Teacher, Environmental Educator, President of the Hungarian Society for Environmental Education

For 25 years Erika taught at a rural school in Dévaványa, where with colleagues, parents, and pupils she established an environmental education site as part of everyday school life. Her teaching was characterised by daily engagement with environmental education. She has founded and led several local professional civil organisations, and has always been interested in teaching methodology, complex approaches to organising learning, innovative schools, and the motivations of both teachers and pupils. Through study visits and travels, she observed a wide range of schools, sharing her insights with colleagues in trainings, workshops, and methodological groups, and integrating them into her practice. She is the author or co-author of numerous professional publications and articles.

Since 2010 – across multiple terms and continuing today – she has served as President of the Hungarian Society for Environmental Education. From 2013 she worked at the Hungarian Institute for Educational Research and Development as an educational developer and eco-school programme leader. Following the institute’s closure, she continued her work for a year at the Education Authority, and later as project lead and expert in the Reformed Church’s National Curriculum Development project, focusing on complex science education.

She earned her MA in Education at ELTE Faculty of Education and Psychology (specialising in institutional development), graduating with distinction. Her thesis examined how higher education – and specifically ELTE Faculty of Education – engages with sustainability.

Today she works as an independent professional: teaching part-time at Milton Friedman University and ELTE Faculty of Primary and Pre-School Education, developing teacher training programmes, delivering courses, and reviewing textbooks. Her diverse work supports the school of the future, teachers, and environmental educators. She remains grateful to her family, friends, and the supportive community that allows her to pursue work she believes in and identifies with.

András Victor – Honorary President of the Hungarian Society for Environmental Education, Biology and Chemistry Teacher

Born in 1943 in Tahi and raised in Budapest, András has dedicated his life to teaching and educational development. Trained as a biology–chemistry teacher, he first taught in a vocational secondary school, then worked at the National Pedagogical Institute on improving chemistry education in primary schools. From 1977 until his retirement he trained chemistry teacher candidates at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE).

He earned his doctoral degree in Biology (ELTE, 1971) and later a PhD in Education (ELTE, 1997). His biology textbook for 8th grade, first published in 1972, remains in circulation. He has served on the boards of several environmental education associations, was a founding member of the Hungarian Society for Environmental Education, and now serves as its Honorary President.

A lifelong musician, he continues to play in chamber ensembles. He is the father of three daughters, grandfather to fourteen grandchildren, and great-grandfather to six great-grandchildren.

Bertalan Péter Farkas, editor-in-chief, podcaster of Knowledge Hub podcast

Bertalan is a knowledge manager, consultant, trainer, and project manager – though originally trained as a geography and history teacher. In his daily work he oversees global knowledge management for leadership consultants, coaches, and international experts, while as an entrepreneur he works to advance Hungarian and European educational practice.

He graduated in Geography and History at Eötvös Loránd University, taught for several years, and later joined state agencies (Educatio, EMET, Tempus). For nearly six years he led the Knowledge Management Department at the Tempus Public Foundation. As Managing Director of Learnitect Design Ltd., he focuses on designing learning environments that support knowledge transfer, organising online and offline learning, creating community spaces, and managing international projects.

He first conceived the idea of the Knowledge Hub podcast in 2022, which became a reality in autumn 2023.