Resumen de Nature and Outdoor Institutions in Uruguay. First Half of the 20th Century
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, different outdoor institutions, such as camps, open-air schools, and holiday colonies, were established in Uruguay. The research aimed to analyze the representations of nature in the discourses of these three different institutions. We used sources consulted at the Biblioteca Especializada Dr. Luis Morquio and the Museo Pedagógico José Pedro Valera. The camps began to be organized by the Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes in Piriápolis in 1911. The camps were generally marked by an idealization of conquering nature and overcoming its challenges. The first open-air school was opened in Montevideo in 1913. By the end of the 1930s, there were open-air schools in most Uruguayan departmental capitals. Based on eugenic and hygienist ideals, nature was idealized as a resource to strengthen health and practical education. Another outdoor institution implemented in Uruguay was the holiday colonies. The Colonia Escolar de Vacaciones de Miramar opened in 1945 in a maritime environment. The sea and the beach would be offered to countryside children because they constituted a human heritage of such beauty that nobody should be excluded. In this case, nature was interpreted as a human right.
