Fox materials used by daycare centres and schools in Helsinki selected as one of the best European practices for sustainability education

The fox friends and their adventures in the book, posters and animation create a model for sustainable development and environmental education that implements the Agenda 2030 goals and builds a sustainable future. In Helsinki, the foxes were introduced in early childhood education in 2022. In autumn 2024, the activities were extended to the first two grades in comprehensive education.

The Fox Model is now gaining international recognition, having been selected as one of the best European practices in sustainability education from among more than 100 applicants in a competition run by the European Commission. 

“The Fox Model reflects on challenging major global issues through storytelling and a child-centred approach. Activities are used to explore the topics and practise thinking skills," says Pedagogical Specialist Sanna Tuokko.
Tuokko will present the City of Helsinki's Fox Model at the Education for Climate community event in Brussels on 23 October. A total of nine good practices from different EU member states will be presented at the event. The Fox Model will be awarded in the Citizenship and Education thematic area.

“The Fox Model and its narrative approach to climate education has attracted plenty of international interest and praise. Every time it is presented, the Fox Books fly off the shelves.”

Tools like this needed in education

The foxes were originally invented and developed by Tuokko's predecessor Anssi Almgren. 

Jasmine Gustafsson, a teacher at Roihuvuori Primary School, has worked with Tuokko to further develop the Fox materials and characters.

The fox illustrations are created separately for early childhood education and the first two grades in comprehensive education. At daycare centres, the Fox material is included in the early childhood education plan. The ‘Fox friends are going to school’ book for the first two grades in comprehensive education also includes a fox booklet, posters and an AR activity where users can scan a QR code to make a fox appear and provide images, sound, text and functional exercises, or ‘paws’. A task could, for example, be to find a large aspen tree in the forest, so that teaching and learning can take place outdoors in the local environment.

“It’s wonderful that our Fox Model is being recognised, because it really is a great model for implementing sustainability education. We need tools like this for education. A huge amount of work has gone into this, with a large number of experts involved in the development. It's great to spread the word about the model so that others can use it too," Tuokko says.

The Story Fox takes literacy to the next level

The Fox Model is currently expanding in many directions, and further development of environmental education connected to reading for grades 3 and 4 is currently underway. New activities promoting literacy will be developed for the Story Fox, as reading, literacy and critical reading skills are important skills for a sustainable future.

“We are looking at how literature and drama can be used in environmental education and how even difficult topics can be more easily addressed through stories. Literature is spread beyond the classroom, and drama is used to learn new things about nature and the world around us.”

Animation encourages sustainable mobility

In spring 2025, the City also published a Finnish-language animation about the foxes on a bike ride, ‘Kettukaverit pyöräretkellä.’ It was implemented by the Education Division in cooperation with the Urban Environment Division, Environmental Services and environmental education concerning traffic in Helsinki. The video, which is aimed specifically at school pupils in grades 1 and 2, encourages sustainable mobility, while another theme is litter picking. Tuokko says that the video has received good feedback from schools and is also being used in early childhood education for children aged 5 to 7.

“I hope that with the help of the fox friends, different operators will find ways to implement sustainability education in daycare centres and schools. Sustainability education and its pedagogy are still works in progress," Tuokko says.

Helsinki is also developing its own sustainability model for pupils in grades 3 to 6. This is based on the idea of a sustainable environmental education pathway from early childhood education to upper secondary education.