SEVER – The Rýchory Centre of Environmental Education and Ethics

Who We Are

SEVER – The Rýchory Centre of Environmental Education and Ethics is one of the largest and oldest Czech non-governmental organizations in the field of environmental and development education (sustainability education).

Our Mission

In our work, we pursue sustainable life on Earth. Through practical environmental education and awareness-raising, we strive to reinforce responsible attitudes to the nature, the planet and other people.

What We Do

We organize educational projects (one-day programmes or multiple-day retreats) for primary and secondary schools. We are offering courses, seminars, consultations, conferences, internships, teaching aids and literature for educators and pedagogy students. We also educate other groups of adults including civil servants, farmers, small entrepreneurs and NGO professionals. We provide environmental advice, support for public participation in decision-making processes and help in addressing environmental issues.

Principal address: Horská 175, 542 26 Horní Maršov

Partnership in International Projects

SEVER is a partner in several international projects in the field of environmental and development education. Below are examples of some of the most interesting projects we have worked on. We will be looking forward to collaborating with you in future.

Carbon Detectives Europe (supported by Intelligent Energy Europe) – educating teachers on global climate change. Pupils undertook to find out how much energy their school consumes, investigated where energy is wasted and proposed practical action to save energy. We collaborated with the UK, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia.

Global Literacy for a Fairer World! (supported by Europe Aid) – in the form of Philosophy for Children, the project educates pupils and teachers about people’s life in third-world countries. We are collaborating with the UK, Poland and Ghana.

Schools for Intelligent Energy Use (supported by Intelligent Energy Europe) – secondary school students developed energy-saving measures for concrete facilities. Their inquiry covered a health food store & restaurant and a church with a rectory. Students from nine European countries participated in the project.

The Elbe River (supported by the European Regional Development Fund) – cooperation with German schools. Students investigated the Elbe biotope using a modern mobile laboratory.

Student Climate Conferences (supported by Youth in Action) – at a series of simulated international conference on climate change, students played the delegates of individual member countries and attempted to agree on the best way towards minimizing future emissions.

School for Sustainable Living (supported by Toyota Motors) – launched in 2004, the British-Polish-Czech project applies the method of place-based learning. Young people and entire communities learn by implementing short-term practical local projects benefiting their immediate environment (public places, transportation, interpretation of local heritage etc.).

Educational Stays in the Highest Czech Mountains

We are offering educational retreats in the highest mountains and the oldest national park of the Czech Republic, the Krkonoše Mountains. These can take place in our School Retreat Centre, or in DOTEK Environmental Centre (Touch) in a freshly renovated former baroque rectory of Horní Maršov.

Our educational programmes, courses and seminars are organized in the Czech, English and German languages. You can obtain further information and learn about our services at our website:

http://sever.ekologickavychova.cz

or by e-mail at

sever@ekologickavychova.cz.

DOTEK Environmental Centre

The former baroque rectory exemplifies a unique connection of a cultural heritage site with modern technologies (biomass heating, solar thermal collectors, heat recovery ventilation).

In the vicinity of the rectory, there is the oldest tree and the oldest church of Eastern Krkonoše Mountains. These three monuments combined make a distinctive whole with a pronounced genius loci.

The rectory is owned by the SEVER. In the 2013, it was completely renovated in order to serve as a site of tradition, environmental education and culture. Its goal is to help re-establish people’s relationship with landscape and nature, protect cultural heritage and teach skills for sustainable living.

Our facility:

- furnished premises for seminars, family vacation, PR events, team-building and sports retreats in the beautiful environment of Eastern Krkonoše Mountains,

- all-year accommodation in a stimulating interior (27 beds in seven different-sized hotel rooms and apartments with in-built bathrooms, toilets and kitchens), additional rooms are available in the School Retreat Centre,

- in-house cafeteria open all day (also serving meals from organic and local products), with full-board and half-board arrangements available,

- premises for educational, social and cultural events (stylish historical interior, workshops for traditional crafts, open-fire kitchen, seminar rooms, games room, library, kitchen and dining room, garden with a stage, barn with livestock), info-centre and an interactive exhibition Touch the Rectory).

Our services:

- seminars for adults, educational and cultural events for the general public, educational programmes for schools,

- excursions, guided tours, educational programmes and handicraft workshops for different age groups, whether as tailor-made events for individual clients or as part of your holiday package,

- information services for tourists and visitors, an interactive exhibition “Touch the Rectory”.

Price list (please consider our introductory prices for the year 2013):

- Basic price from September to Christmas 2013: from CZK 250 per person per night (PPPN), children aged 3–10 from CZK 150 PPPN,

- Christmas 2013: from CZK 320 PPPN, children aged 3–10 from CZK 190 PPPN,

- From January 6, 2014: from CZK 300 PPPN, children aged 3–10 from CZK 180 PPPN,

- Christmas 2013: from CZK 390 PPPN, children aged 3–10 from CZK 230 PPPN.

- Children under 3 years of age are not entitled to individual beds free of charge.

- Apartments from 1500 CZK per room per night.

- Please request an individual quotation for your special event (wedding, party, VIP clients).

- For rentals and other services, please contact us by e-mail or telephone.

- Discounts on accommodation are provided to clients attending our educational programmes (all-day adult programmes from CZK 640 per person per day). Please contact us for details on discounts. Our programmes are listed on our website.

You can learn more about our programmes at http://sever.ekologickavychova.cz/dotek/akce

If you are interested in our services, e-mail us at sever-hm@ekologickavychova.cz
or call us at +420-739 203 205.

http://sever.ekologickavychova.cz

We are looking forward to having you here.

School Retreat Centre, Horní Maršov

The facility was established in 1995 on the second floor of the Horní Maršov Primary School. Its lecturers conduct residential programmes of environmental education for primary and secondary school students as well as other clients. The School Retreat Centre provides accommodation and premises for rent. The modern school building is located in the centre of the municipality just outside the territory of the Krkonoše Mountains National Park. Horní Maršov can be easily reached by public transportation.

Our facility:

We are offering all-year accommodation for family vacation, team-building or sports retreats, school groups in the beautiful environment of Eastern Krkonoše Mountains. Approximately 30 beds are available in five cosy rooms. Common bathrooms are located on the floor. Guests have access to a furnished kitchen.

All-day catering: Breakfast is served on the premises. Lunch and dinner are served in a partner restaurant a five minutes’ walk away or (newly since Autumn 2013) in our cafeteria at the rectory (about ten minutes’ walk, also serving meals from organic and local products). Full-board or half-board arrangements available.

Premises for rent: For school groups, seminars, PR events, team-building or sports retreats (dining room for 30 persons, games/seminar room furnished with a video projector, a laptop computer and an interactive whiteboard).

Our services:

Residential programmes of environmental education for primary and secondary schools, with emphasis on the Man and Nature Education Programme (cross-cutting topics Man and his World, Man and Society etc.). Our goal is that students who have attended our programme of environmental education acknowledge the meaning of environmental protection and are able to do something useful for the environment. The programmes are taught on the premises of the School Retreat Centre, outdoors in the Krkonoše Mountains National Park and (since September 2013) on the freshly renovated premises of the former baroque rectory (DOTEK).

Programmes typically take place from Monday to Friday, other formats are available upon request. More details on the residential programmes for grades 1–5 (Welcome to Rübezahl’s Kingdom), 6–7 (Visitors from the Future) and 8–9 (A Week for Sustainable Living: Man and the Environment) are available at http://sever.ekologickavychova.cz/vyukoveprogramy/pobytove-vyukove-programy.

Price list:

- Accommodation: CZK 230 PPPN, children aged 3–10 CZK 125 PPPN, school groups CZK 125 PPPN, children under 3 years of age are not entitled to individual beds free of charge.

- Catering: full board from CZK 190, half board from CZK 120, lunch and dinner are served at the DOTEK Environmental Centre.

- Rentals and other services: please contact us by e-mail or telephone.

- All-day school programmes: CZK 175 per person per day (this price is subsidized).

If you are interested in our services, e-mail us at sever-hm@ekologickavychova.cz
or call us at +420-739 203 205.

http://sever.ekologickavychova.cz

We are looking forward to having you here.