Time is difficult, challenging and requires smart technical solutions. Therefore, in addition to cozy seminar rooms, Tartu Nature House also helps you to organise a virtual training or conference.  Due to current Covid restrictions, it is not possible to organize face-to-face trainings, conferences or seminars. Only individual activities and virtual meetings are allowed.

Tartu Nature House has the necessary equipment which makes it possible to organize a virtual training or conference in our premises. For the smooth running of the event, we offer virtual studio, technical support and the possibility to stream or record what is happening, so that you can watch or share what you have recorded later.

We are experienced organizers of online trainings and seminars, and we can give advice on how to organize a web event and which aspects to pay attention to.

For more information on organizing web events:
https://www.tartuloodusmaja.ee/en/our-services/virtual-event-studio/

We are experienced organizers of online trainings and seminars ourselves and we can give advice on how to organize a web event and what aspects to pay attention to.
Contact us and we will discuss your wishes and needs together.

We are responsive and flexible, and together we try to find the best solution.

info@tartuloodusmaja.ee

Tel. 736 6120, 50 555 27

Dear visitors!

Tartu Nature house is closed for the time being. We will keep you updated with changes through our website and social media posts.

At the moment the only service we are able to provide is renting room and equipment for your virtual event.
More information

You are still able to call us +372 736 6120 or write an e-mail info@tartuloodusmaja.ee.

Stay healthy and hang in there!
We are looking forward to opening our house to visitors again.

On the 3rd of december, the city of Tartu recognized the best youth workers of 2020 in Tartu at the youth work recognition event held in the ruins of the Cathedral of the University of Tartu Museum.

We are very pleased to announce that one of the four acclaimed is Pille-Riin Pärnsalu, study coordinator of  Tartu Nature House Hobby School.

During the last academic year, Pille-Riin has supported the development of digital capabilities and conducted trainings in raising digital competencies for teachers of both the Nature House Hobby School and the member schools of the Estonian Association of Hobby Schools. She has contributed to the creation of curricula and development plans for the nature house and improved the opportunities for distanced learning.

In Tartu Nature House Pille-Riin supervises three hobby classes (Environmentally Friendly Design, Water World and Friends of Nature), fills the role of study coordinator of the hobby school and organizes practicums for the Green School program for hobby school students and parents. In addition, she occasionally instructs study programs and workshops on various topics, helps to decorate our house with his skillful fingers, and is one of the multitalents found in the Nature House.

Thank you Pille-Riin, your work is very important for the Nature House and all your students!

Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation is looking for the creative artworks which are calling to act environmentally friendly 

Estonia-Russia CBC program project  ER101 “GreenMind: Raising Environmental Awareness in Estonian-Russian Border Area” has opened environmental advertisement contest about Lake Peipsi, with a deadline 10^th of January 2021.

More information: http://ctc.ee/activities-and-projects/running/greenmind/greenmindart

The aim of the competition is to encourage people to behave more environmentally friendly through the art messages. Artworks should draw attention to the problems of Lake Peipsi (environmental, social, economic, etc.) and visions for the future; we also expect the authors to make notion on the cross border environmental issues.

It is an international competition that takes place in two stages.
– Stage 1 – national competition / separate competitions in Estonia and Russia;
– Stage 2 – international  phase: study trip and a joint Estonian-Russian seminar in Pskov region, scheduled for June 2021.

What we are looking for

We expect different forms of self-expression, which can be comics, photos, photo collages, videos and animations or a combination of different media. Each participant can submit up to two works. The target groups of the competition are: gymnasium students (15+ year); students, creative and environmental specialists, etc.

Submission of works

The deadline for submitting your works is no later than at midnight at 23:59 on January 10^th 2021.

Best artworks will be published on the web exhibition of the on the GreenMind project, on the website http://ctc.ee/activities-and-projects/running/greenmind/greenmindart and on Facebook.

The authors of the best artworks (10 people) have an opportunity to participate in a 3-day long study trip/workshop in Pskov in June 2021, where a joint seminar and meeting with the with the winners of Pskov region contest  takes place. All related travel expenses will be covered by organisers.

The prize fund of the competition includes also the gift cards of the art shops.

Funder: 

The Contest is held within the framework of the GreenMind project with the support of the Estonia-Russia Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020. Co-funding support by The Foundation Environmental Investments Centre 

Estonia-Russia Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 aims to foster cross border cooperation across the borders between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation to promote socio-economic development in the regions on both sides of the common borders. The Programme web-site is www.estoniarussia.eu.   

Additional information:

Ederi Ojasoo
+372 56 636 264
www.ctc.ee

WHAT TYPE OF CANDLES SHOULD WE CHOOSE?

Candles create a cozy and soothing environment and change your being both physically and mentally lighter. But what type of candle is the best choice for both the environment and your health?

There is a wide variety to choose from so it is not so easy to give a single answer. Candles are made out of paraffin , stearin, various vegetable waxes, but also beeswax.

The most common and affordable is a paraffin candle made out of petroleum industry residues. The burning process of each candle produces soot particles, which are toxic in case of oil-based candles. Soot damages airways, especially of those who suffer from asthma or other respiratory diseases. However, the most harmful substances come from candle paint, varnish or synthetic fragrances. Like other products, there are both high-quality and very cheap paraffin candles – the latter should be avoided.

Stearin candles are more expensive than paraffin candles and are usually made from palm oil, but sometimes animal fats are also used.

Vegetable wax candles include a variety of soy-, coconut- and rapeseed wax candles. The increasing mass cultivation of each monoculture is generally associated with the loss of biodiversity – new farmlands are established at the expense of natural biomes. For example, palm oil entails cutting down rainforests and soybean production is challenged by the use of pesticides, as well as the effects of GMOs. In remote plantations respect for human rights of the workers is often a problem and as we know palm oil, coconut and soybeans reach us from afar. In the case of rapeseed grown in Europe – if it’s not a raw produce from an organic farming – we unfortunately have to consider the devastating effects of insecticides. From Estonian candle masters we can also find vegetable candle crumbs, which uses olive oil as a raw produce.

Historically, the most used and nowadays the most valuable candles in Estonia are made of beeswax – both accoring to its essence and price tag.

SO WHAT TYPE OF CANDLE SHOULD YOU PURCHASE?

Evidently, beeswax candles made by a local beekeeper, as well as ecostearin and eco-plant wax candles can be considered a good choice.

Ecolabel – when buying candles from a store, it is worth keeping an eye on the eco-labels and prefer candles with the EU flower or the Nordic swan label.

Packaging – the less packaged, the better! The range of packaging-free tealights is also expanding.

Less is more! When burning candles, it is recommended not to overdo it – instead of many candles burning at once, limit yourself to a few candles. Although air is primarily polluted by paraffin candles, the mass use of alternatives is also unreasonable from an environmental point of view.

The 3rd event of the Tartu Nature House International Club invites you to learn about upcycling.

Date: 13th of November at 16:00 – 19:00 o’clock.

Participants will be divided into two groups to attend a sewing workshop and a movie which addresses the environmental damage caused by the food and textile industry. The sewing workshop instructor Pille-Riin Pärnsalu will teach participants how to sew their own fruit bags and lead a discussion about recycling and upcycling. We want to raise awareness of these problems among participants, and arouse the curiosity to elaborate about possible solutions.

Only participate when you are in full health to prevent endangering other people. We will have to ask people with symptoms to leave. Wearing a mask is highly recommended.

The idea of “International Club” started with a vision of a comfortable place for young adults (age 18-26) to gather and exchange their experiences. Even though there are a number of foreign students in Tartu there aren’t many places that promote environmental education which is where International Club steps in. The club welcomes both local estonians and foreigners living in Tartu to create a cross-cultural environmental discussion.

Maximum participants: 20 people

SIGN-UP HERE

Join the event on Facebook

Read more about the International Club on our homepage

The 4th event of the Tartu Nature House International Club invites you to a tasty Syrian bakery workshop.

Date: 17th of November at 17:00 – 21:00 o’clock

International House chefs will walk us through some exciting recipes that you are able to modify and recreate later on. We will have discussions about zero waste cooking as well as the meaning and importance of fair trade labels. While establishing a strong link between health, nutrition and safety, we aim to instruct participants in implementing sustainable ways of preparing, cooking and presenting tasteful recipes in their everyday lives.

During the event we plan on having short presentations to share our culture with each other.

Receips:

Appetizers
– Cheese Pie
– Muhammara Pie (roasted pepper and walnut dip filling)

Dessert
– Baklava (airy nut cake)

Beverages
– Arabian coffee
– Sage tea

Only participate when you are in full health to prevent endangering other people. We will have to ask people with symptoms to leave. Wearing a mask is highly recommended.

The idea of “International Club” started with a vision of a comfortable place for young adults (age 18-26) to gather and exchange their experiences. Even though there are a number of foreign students in Tartu there aren’t many places that promote environmental education which is where International Club steps in. The club welcomes both local estonians and foreigners living in Tartu to create a cross-cultural environmental discussion.

Maximum participants: 15 people

SIGN-UP HERE (UPDATE: THE WORKSHOP IS FULL AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED!)

Join the event on Facebook

Read more about the International Club on our homepage

Tartu Nature House’s second International Club event takes you on a Halloween hike on Kiidjärve-Taevaskoja trail!

Date: 31. October at 10.00 – 17.00

Prepare your scary costume for the role-playing Halloween hike (10 km) and enjoy the autumn weather while solving mysterious puzzles, learning about Estonian nature and ancient customs during different Halloween-related days – like the Estonian All Souls’ Day. The hikingtrail runs along the picturesque banks of Ahja River Valley Landscape Reserve in Põlvamaa, where you can easily see interesting sandstone banks, small caves, outcrops and springs. We will also visit the famous sandstone outcrops Small Heaven’s Hall (Väike Taevaskoda) and Large Heaven’s Hall (Suur Taevaskoda), spring Emaläte and cave Neitsikoobas which are all very important ancient natural sacred sites and have various mystical legends tied to them.

The expedition guide is Tartu Nature House’s hiking class teacher Gedy Matisen.

Gathering point location: Tartu Railway Station (Vaksali 6)

Only participate when you are in full health with no virus symptoms to prevent endangering other people.

Be quick to register, because a maximum of 13 people can join the horrific festivities!

Details of the hike and what to pack will be sent to your e-mail after the registration.

Sign-up here: https://forms.gle/c1UkojJpxJhaCQGS7

More information:

Getrin Laanesoo

International Club coordinator

getrin.laanesoo@tartuloodusmaja.ee

Dear parents and students!

We are pleased to announce that the registration for Tartu Nature House 2020/2021 hobby classes is now open!

This year we are introducing a completely new english hobby class for foreigners and english learning children and pupils in Tartu. This new hobby class focuses on the countries, people and cultures within the world around us. Learn more about the hobby class “The worls around us” here and contact the teacher for more information. There are also estonian speaking classes that welcome foreign english speaking children in which the teacher will translate the activities and assignments. All the classes available for non-estonian speaking pupils can be found HERE.

The opening event of the hobby school will take place on the 1st of September at 16:00. There you can get acquainted with the activities of the Green School program, teachers and classrooms of this year’s hobby school.

REGISTRATE FOR A HOBBY CLASS HERE! (in estonian). If you need the sign up sheet in English, contact the study coordinator: Pille-Riin Pärnsalu, pilleriin.parnsalu@tartuloodusmaja.ee