School and education
Within Grip on Life, we have worked to increase knowledge of and interest in forest water among our various target groups. We offer materials and activities for both schools and the general public, as well as resources aimed at professionals.
Please note: most of the material for school and education is only available in Swedish.
For supervisors and machine operators working on watercourse restoration in block-rich watercourses, Grip on Life and the Rivers of Life project have developed the digital training platform vattendragsrestaurering.se.
The platform is divided into a training section and a field support section. The training is intended as a first step before practical work in the water begins. The field support can be used by those supervising excavators directly in the field.
The teacher’s guide "The forest and the water" contains facts about forests, forestry, and water, along with suggested lessons that include specially designed exercises. Many of the exercises are well suited for outdoor activities.
The lessons are based on the book’s four themes: forests, lakes, wetlands, and watercourses. The material can be used throughout primary school, with lessons and exercises adapted to the students’ ages.
The forest and the water was developed in collaboration with external consultants and educators.
Children are often curious about nature – and Grip on Life has built on that interest. In collaboration with external authors, we have produced two children’s books: "Malva and the forest water treasure", and "Lump wants an adventure".
"Lump wants an adventure" was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix Digital Publication 2024 by the Publishing Prize – the best of all entries in the Digital Publications category. The book is available in English!
The books are primarily available as e-books, though a limited number of physical copies has been printed.
At Kreativum in Karlshamn – a science center for children, youth, and the general public – Grip on Life has created the discovery station "Help the freshwater pearl mussel multiply". This interactive station allows visitors to explore different scenarios to learn about human impacts on forest watercourses and the effects on the critically endangered freshwater pearl mussel.
A teacher’s guide is also available for the discovery station.
At Sweden’s forestry high schools, young people are trained for careers in forestry, for example as forest machine operators. Grip on Life has organized annual training days on forestry and water for students at selected forestry high schools in Jönköping, Kronoberg, and Västerbotten counties.
We have also produced a teacher’s guide for agricultural and forestry high schools, "Forestry with consideration for water". The guide is intended to support and inspire teaching.
For several years, Grip on Life has been entrusted with leading a full-day training session for students in the Forest Management programme at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå, focusing on forest water and environmental considerations.
We have also met with students from the Forest and Landscape programme at Linnaeus University in Växjö for a full day dedicated to forestry and water.
During these training days, theory has been combined with practical field components covering topics such as riparian buffer zones, restoration of aquatic environments, and freshwater ecology.
In collaboration with Naturum Blekinge, Grip on Life contributed to the development of the exhibition "In wet and dry – The benefits of wetlands". The exhibition was partly funded by Grip on Life and was launched in late summer 2025.
Naturum Blekinge is open from April through November.