Greening Your Place is a practical, action-oriented  course designed to help you understand, improve, and transform the natural spaces around you. Whether your place is a school, community park, riverbank, garden, or another shared space, this course will guide you through the process of developing a vision, understanding your environment, creating a practical plan, and taking action to bring positive change.

Throughout the course, you will build your knowledge step by step, combining environmental learning with practical activities that allow you to apply what you learn directly in your own place. By the end of the course, you will have developed a detailed plan for your site, engaged your community, and begun implementing real improvements that you can document and share.

 This should take between 40-50 hours to complete

Course Structure

The course is divided into eight units, each building on the previous one.

• Unit 1: Knowing Your Place:

Begin by exploring your place, understanding what already exists there, and developing a vision for how you would like it to change. You will reflect on your community’s needs and start imagining the future of your space.

• Unit 2: Understanding Your Place

Learn how to map your place in detail. You will identify important features, assess the current health of the area, recognise opportunities for improvement, and identify the people and organisations who can support your project.

• Unit 3: Knowing Your Soil

Healthy places start with healthy soil. In this unit you will discover what soil is made of, carry out simple soil tests, understand erosion, and learn practical ways to improve and protect the soil in your place.

• Unit 4: Knowing Your Plants

Explore the plants growing in your area, learn about indigenous, exotic and invasive species, and discover how healthy plant communities support thriving ecosystems. You will identify opportunities to improve biodiversity and create suitable habitats.

• Unit 5: Placemaking with People, Plants, Soil and Water

Bring everything together by designing your place. You will refine your vision, consider how people will use the space, and develop a practical plan that integrates soil, plants, water, habitats and community activities.

• Unit 6: Enjoying and Sharing Your Place

Learn how to involve others in your project by planning a community event. You will share your vision, gather feedback, build partnerships, and encourage others to become involved in caring for your place.

• Unit 7: Putting it into Practice

This is where your learning becomes action. You will upload your completed assignments to Yoma.World, begin implementing your plan, document the changes taking place, and reflect on your own learning journey by creating a Story of Change.

• Unit 8: Putting it to Work – Starting a Nursery Micro-enterprise

For participants interested in creating livelihoods, the final unit introduces the basics of starting a small nursery business. You will learn about propagation, planning a business, marketing, and the practical steps involved in establishing a small enterprise.

Course Assignments and Yoma Credits

As you progress through the course, you will complete four practical assignments. These assignments must be uploaded to Yoma.World as Impact Tasks. Successfully completing and uploading them allows you to earn additional credits for your YoID, providing recognition for the knowledge and practical experience you have gained.

• Assignment 1: Your Map

Create your final map showing your vision for your place, including soil types, plant zones, habitats, and how people will interact with and use the space. Upload a photograph of your completed map to Yoma.World to receive your credits. 

• Assignment 2: Your Plan for Your Place

After completing Units 1–6, develop a clear written plan describing what you want to achieve in your place and how you intend to do it. Upload your completed plan as a PDF or image to Yoma.World to earn your credits.

• Assignment 3: Evidence of Your Community Event

As part of the course activities, you are encouraged to organise a community event to share your plan, gather feedback, and involve others in your project. Upload a photograph or video of your event to Yoma.World to receive your credits.

• Assignment 4: The Change Project (Story of Change)

Before beginning your Change Project, ensure you have uploaded the previous three assignments as Impact Tasks on Yoma.World. Your final assignment is to document the changes you have made in your place by putting your plan into action. Record your progress through photographs, notes, or observations, showing how your place changes over time. Reflect on what you have learned and share your Story of Change as either a written report or a video. Include before-and-after photographs to demonstrate the impact of your work. Upload your completed Story of Change to Yoma.World to earn your final credits and showcase your achievements through your YoID.

Learning by Doing

This course is built around practical action. Every unit includes activities that help you apply your new knowledge in your own place. By the end of the course, you will have developed the skills, confidence, and practical experience to create meaningful environmental change, inspire others in your community, and build a lasting record of your impact through your YoID.