Consultant and trainer in Ecotherapy

 ALPHA has been implementing an environmental education curriculum at the “Arisheh ecological center” in Wadi el Karm (Matn), to foster awareness, appreciation, and care for nature among children and youth. To enhance its impact, and in the framework of its partnership with MISEREOR,  ALPHA wishes to integrate structured ecotherapy components— a nature-based psychosocial support approach that nurtures mental, emotional, spiritual, relational, and physical well-being. Hence, environmental learning will be complemented by therapeutic experiences in an immersive natural setting. By adapting the curriculum and training animators in ecotherapy techniques, the aim is to provide a holistic experience that promotes environmental awareness while supporting resilience, emotional regulation, stress management, trauma recovery, self-esteem, and mindfulness.

3. Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for:

3.1 Curriculum Adaptation

Review the existing environmental education curriculum (written in Arabic).

Visit A’risheh Center to identify relevant opportunities for ecotherapy integration.

Prepare an introduction to ecotherapy to be incorporated into the curriculum content.

Design a structured list of ecotherapy components, their purposes, step-by-step instructions, facilitation tips, safety considerations, and practical considerations (location, duration, group size, materials needed, safety tips).

Adapt some existing activities by including ecotherapy components.

Ensure that the adapted curriculum is culturally sensitive, age-appropriate, and aligned with the educational and psychosocial objectives.

3.2 Capacity Building of Animators/Training

Design and deliver five (5) interactive training days to introduce the adapted curriculum to a small group of animators and to train them on its effective and practical usage. The workshops will take place in Wadi el Karm.

Teach the basics of ecotherapy and psychosocial support, and how to lead activities in a trauma-sensitive way.

Prepare and conduct pre- and post-tests with the animators/trainees and analyze the results to assess knowledge gain.

Oversee the animators’ application of the ecotherapy activities in Wadi el Karm with groups of children, support the animators through coaching, and revise the curriculum when necessary. 4 to 7 follow-up visits should be planned.

Deliverables

The consultant will deliver the following:

Inception Report including work plan, curriculum adaptation methodology, and training outline.

Adapted Curriculum integrating ecotherapy principles and activities, developed in draft form for review by ALPHA and finalized by the consultant based on ALPHA’s feedback.

Five-Day Training Workshop delivered to the animators, including hand-outs, PowerPoints, Word documents, or other materials, Pre/post post-test.

Follow-up and Coaching of the animators on the application of ecotherapy in Wadi el Karm with groups of children.

Final Report covering the five-day workshops and subsequent coaching in Wadi el Karm.