The University of Algarve marked Global Outdoor Learning Day on 21 November with an initiative dedicated to exploring the Outdoor Classrooms on the Gambelas Campus. The activity, promoted within the framework of the European University of the Seas (SEA-EU) and aligned with Task 4.4 — SEA-EU Goes Greener, reinforced the Alliance’s commitment to innovative teaching practices, sustainability, and a stronger integration between learning and the natural environment.
The guided visit brought together 20 participants, including students, lecturers, researchers and staff, who had the opportunity to discover — or rediscover — the three outdoor classrooms located on the campus. Designed to support more dynamic, collaborative and nature-based teaching approaches, these facilities were developed to accommodate a range of pedagogical methods.
Professor Ana Paula Silva, responsible for planning the classrooms, highlighted the concepts underpinning each structure:
Classroom 1 — Expository teaching using repurposed concrete benches.
Designed for a more traditional model, with students facing the speaker, it provides a smooth transition from conventional indoor teaching to an outdoor setting.
Classroom 2 — Cooperative learning with furniture that resembles recycled wood made from plastic.
Created to facilitate group work, it allows the lecturer to move between tables, encouraging active, participatory and collaborative dynamics.
Classroom 3 — Non-hierarchical teaching with recycled concrete.
Organised in a circle, it promotes open dialogue and the collective construction of knowledge, fostering a more horizontal relationship between participants.
During the visit, participants also had the opportunity to learn about the recent “Trees of Peace” plantation on the Gambelas Campus, composed of species that survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — among them the Ginkgo biloba, now a universal symbol of peace and resilience.
The activity was attended by the Vice-Rector for Internationalisation and Sustainable Development, Alexandra Teodósio; the Pro-Rector for SEA-EU, Patrícia Pinto; and Professors Vânia Sousa and Margarida Ribau Teixeira, UAlg representatives in Task 4.4 — SEA-EU Goes Greener. Their presence highlighted the strategic role of SEA-EU in promoting more sustainable, accessible learning environments aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In a moment of sharing and reflection, the potential of these outdoor classrooms to diversify teaching practices, stimulate creativity and strengthen the connection between the university and the natural environment was emphasised. The initiative reinforces UAlg’s and SEA-EU’s commitment to building a greener, more inclusive and innovative European Campus, placing outdoor learning at the heart of future educational practices.
