Let's get kids outdoors.Nature thanks you and so do they!

Children play less, especially indoors, with too much technology, and they are getting sick. Lets restore their natural surroundings—its urgent!

Nowadays, children play less , spending an average of more than six hours a day in front of screens and less than an hour outdoors! The challenges of our modern lives , the boom in electronic games and social media, combined with the general feeling of insecurity, are trapping children and seriously affecting their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

The most recent data in Portugal on mental and physical health are alarming: Around 20% of children and adolescents have at least one diagnosable mental disorder ; 31% of young people present symptoms of depression; 31.9% of children aged 6 to 8 are overweight (pre-obese and obese) and 86% of children and adolescents feel addicted to social media.

The mission of Movimento Bloom association is to (re)connect children with nature and restore this fundamental right to them, so they grow up healthier and happier. We created the Escola da Floresta Bloom's forest school program, which welcomes children from the municipality of Sintra to learn and play in the forest, free of charge. They take classes in the forest. They experience the forest in an active, playful, and free way. They develop autonomy, confidence, creativity, and cooperation. They breathe fresh air. They have an active mind and body. They make discoveries that stay in their memories and hearts.

All children should have this opportunity, but there are fewer and fewer of them.

With this campaign, we want to raise funds to welcome more children to the forest for free. Specifically, 200 children from public schools and private charities, not just from Sintra. Now we want to go further and reach children in the Amadora municipality who want and need contact with nature. These funds will cover transportation and the necessary equipment so they can enjoy the forest of the Sintra Cascais Natural Park safely, with a team of professionals with experience and appropriate training in outdoor learning.

With your support, we can make a difference in these children's lives. We're counting on you!

And this is the first step toward our ultimate goal of reaching 2,000 children. Therefore, if we surpass the amount raised, every euro will go toward helping more children waiting for this opportunity.

Thank you very much!

Mónica Franco & Magda Morbey Ferro - Founders of Movimento Bloom association

"(The Bloom Forest School) is more than a project promoting education, awareness, and environmental consciousness: it is a place to create happy memories, awaken the joy of learning, and experience meaningful experiences. The benefits of participating in the project are multidimensional (...) Satisfaction rates with participation in the project are very positive, both from the perspective of adults (professionals and families) and from the perspective of children. (...) All support measures for this project (...) will translate into significant benefits for local communities, reaching not only children but also families and education professionals. " – IAC – Institute for Child Support .

Escola da Floresta Bloom - à descoberta da tua natureza

About the author

Once upon a time... An awakening, an experience that triggers a direct, emotional, and profound connection between a child and Mother Nature. From this connection arises a unique feeling: Love.

We are two childhood friends, Mónica Franco and Magda Morbey Ferro, and we played a lot in nature, where we had incredible experiences that will last a lifetime. We watched as children disappeared from the streets, from green spaces, and from the outdoors, where adventure lurks around every corner. As young mothers, we decided to counter this growing reality, which has increasingly serious consequences, and in 2010, we founded the nonprofit Movimento Bloom to bring children back to nature—the best classroom—where they can grow up healthy, happy, and aware of this wonderful planet that is our common home.

We have decades of experience in the social sector, dedicated to another great cause where children are also at the center of the mission: Operação Nariz Vermelho (clown doctors).

We have already impacted more than 596 thousand children, through various playful-pedagogical programs , as well as thousands of parents, teachers and educators :

- About 1,000 children from public schools in Sintra attended our Escola da Floresta Bloom forest school program - Gulbenkian Academy of Knowledge , free of charge, with the support of the municipality of Sintra and Parques de Sintra Monte da Lua. "I believe that if nature were more involved in educational practices, we would have happier and more capable students. And teachers too!" Professor Raquel Antunes

- More than 1,000 professionals in the social, education, and health sectors from across the country attended training sessions using the Flow Learning™ methodology, developed by the Sharing Nature Foundation, which we represent the in Europe, and supported by the Municipality of Sintra and Cultursintra. "The Forest Flow training puts us in direct contact with nature, allowing us to connect with the curriculum content, challenging us to take the classroom outdoors, where we are all happier and realize that we, too, are nature." Prof. Alexandra Amaro

- More than 590,000 children participated, free of charge, in Outdoor Classroom Day, an international campaign coordinated in Portugal since 2018 by Movimento Bloom, which encourages children to learn outside the classroom, in nature.

We are Member of the Children & Nature Network; partner of Learning through Landscapes and represent Sharing Nature Foundation (USA) in Europe, dedicated to leading people of all ages to experience and deepen their relationship with nature.

We contribute to the SDGs: 4 Quality Education | 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities | 12 Sustainable Consumption and Production | 13 Climate Action | 15 Life on Land

Magda Morbey Ferro & Mónica Franco - Fundadoras

Budget and due dates

Execution budget during the academic year 2025/2026

The €6,000 we intend to raise with this campaign will be applied to the following expenses:

Images