The post-pandemic scenario has led the world of education and instruction, including early childhood services, to adopt strong preventive measures to limit the spread of the SARS-cov-2 virus, including, first of all, interpersonal distancing (Porcarelli, Sardella, 2021).

A possible response to the challenges of education in the complexity of the presented scenario has been recognized in the outdoor educational model, capable of combining education and attention to physical, psychological and relational well-being. Although this model has spread to the countries of Northern Europe in the first decades after the Second World War, it has only recently established itself in Italy.

Taking up the scientific literature, it has emerged that outdoor education offers benefits compared to physical, emotional and cognitive development (Pezzano, 2016); improves the quality of life (Zelenski & Nisbet, 2014); stimulates ecological awareness and identity (Bardulla, 2006); reduces stress and promotes concentration (Bowler, Buyung-Ali, Knight & Pullin, 2010); and helps developing a sense of belonging to the world (Kaplan, 1995). The outdoor model, in the view of the beneficial effects presented, has become more and more innovative, making the most of the opportunities offered by being outdoors and identifying the external environment as a place of training (Farnè, 2015). This educational approach also requires the active participation of the subjects through the body and its movement, has brought back to the center of the development and learning processes the dimension of corporeality, adhering to recent ministerial documents (MIUR 2018; MIUR 2021) that have recognized in the body a vehicle of communication and knowledge. According to the same documents, the territory has taken a particular importance in the learning processes, being recognized as a place to exercise skills and expand educational experiences. Therefore, the outdoor educational model seems to respond both to what is required by ministerial documents and to the new needs dictated by the epidemiological emergency.

Living in the society of complexity and uncertainty (Bauman, 2008; Morin, 2012) requires the early childhood professionals not to stop at their basic training, but to keep on training in the light of constant changes in order to be able to learn about new educational and training strategies and to implement their social and technical skills. The article examines the results of a research-training conducted in the kindergartens of the territory of Bari on the theme of outdoor education, in order to observe and improve the applicability/feasibility of this model to early post-pandemic education. The project, entitled "The Indispensable Proximity: Reorganize the Kindergartens in Safety" (RIoNI) was carried out with the aim of enhancing the outdoor educational model, especially following the healthcare emergency, that brought the need to enhance infection preventive measures in kindergartens through interpersonal distancing and the use of "bubbles", ie sections of a few children without the possibility of intergroup exchange.

According to the findings, the RIoNI project aims to train educators and inform parents about the outdoor educational model, explaining the benefits of outdoor activities on emotional regulation, cognitive, physical and relational development of children. The project, moreover, in the light of the importance of the physical internal and external environment of the school on the learning processes and on the psychophysical and relational well-being (Plotka, 2016), aimed to rethink the organization of the available spaces (indoor and outdoor), for a better applicability of the proposed educational strategy.

The methodology chosen for the project RIoNI was the Research-Training (R-F) (Asquini, 2018); originally developed by CRESPI (Educational Research Centre on the Professionalism of Teachers), it is aimed in particular at schools and teachers and is oriented towards the training/transformation of educational and didactic action and the promotion of teacher reflexivity. R-F is an empirical research methodology that requires the joint participation of teachers/educators and experienced researchers. In this regard, already Dewey (1899), supporting the model of the Inquiry approach and the school-laboratory, placed at the center of educational research the collaboration between researchers and teachers (Magnoler & Sorzio, 2012). The project, therefore, has seen the collaboration between the researchers of the University of Bari "Aldo Moro" and professional figures (educators and coordinators) operating in municipal kindergartens in the Bari area. Among the tools that have made possible the research in its different phases, we remember, the scale SVANI, scale for the assessment of the kindergarten (Harmes, Cryere & Clifford., 1990), the Italian vesion of ITER-S (Bassa Poropat & Chicco 2003), used to evaluate the quality of each kindergarten involved and compare the quality indicators of the target kindergartens and control; questionnaires to collect socio-demographic data; Maternal Sensitivity Scalem, used to detect the sensitivity of educators to the distress signals sent by children (Ainsworth, Bell, & Stayton, 1974); Bayley III rating scales: Socio-Emotional Scale + 4 areas (Communication, Play, Self-control, Social Behavior) of the Adaptive Behavior Scale, compiled by parents (Bayley, 2006); and the self-report Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), aimed at investigating the stress in the relationship between child-educator and child-parent, following the pandemic (Abidin, 1995; Richard & Abidin, 1998). Specifically, the researchers of the University of Bari organized for the training of educators and information of parents with respect to OE, a series of distance learning meetings, in which they explained the educational model in nature, proposed a plurality of outdoor activities that can be experienced both at the kindergarten and at home, and illustrated the benefits of OE. Both educators and parents were also able to participate in training sessions run by medical staff, on the benefits of being outdoors with children for physical and mental health, followed by the periodic sending of "information pills" in-depth micro-videos on paediatric information to support participation in the project.

The study led to reflect and evaluate the applicability of the outdoor educational model through experimentation of the research-training project in early childhood services. Overall, the results of statistical analysis and feedback from kindergarten educators were encouraging, both in terms of the applicability of the outdoor experience model, than in terms of the benefits produced on children’s attentive skills and their skills of expression and behavior regulation in social interaction. The results of the research show that the kindergartens that have adopted this model have found significant benefits, suggesting that this strategy should be promoted and encouraged. The research also highlighted the need to support the training of professionals working in the world of education to enable them to implement pedagogical-educational and social skills needed to rethink and reorganize spaces and routines, for the integral development of children. The training of educators, in the field of design, has allowed, in fact, to investigate the previous knowledge of professionals with respect to the subject, overcome initial resistance and acquire skills, tools and methods of application of OE. In line with pedagogical literature, the outdoor educational model has proven to be an effective approach to learning and developing children, since it offers opportunities for movement, Social exploration and interaction that are critical for the healthy growth and development of children (Bento & Dias, 2017). In addition, outdoor learning can promote physical and mental health, reduce stress, and increase motivation (Kellert, 2005).

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