Naturefriends Youth of Germany

Name

Naturefriends Youth of Germany

Legal name

Kinder- und Jugendwerk der Naturfreunde - Verein zur Förderung der Naturfreundejugend Deutschlands e.V.

Website

https://naturfreundejugend.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-formal youth education and environmental learning services

NAICS

RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Recreational Camps (7212), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Adventure Camps & Summer Programs (THAAAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Outdoor & Wilderness Education Schools (Field-Based Learning) (THAAAOAA), Nature-Based / Forest School Early Learning Programs (EDACADAD), Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)

Keywords

• Youth travel programs
• Environmental education
• Climate education
• Youth political participation
• Radicalization prevention

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The organization is funded primarily through membership fees from its members, who join as youth members of the Naturefriends movement. This constitutes the core financial base of the association.
2. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization solicits donations through its website and actively participates in public funding programs for youth and environmental education, civil society support, and international youth work.
3. Sale of Educational Materials and Publications: Sale of method booklets, educational folders, cookbooks, stickers, and other materials priced between €0.04 and €5.00 per item, providing modest revenue while supporting the organization's educational mission.
4. Youth Travel Programs (subsidized): Youth travel programs, camps, and leisure activities offered at low cost to participants. Programs are priced affordably (described as 'preiswert') and are subsidized through membership fees and public funding.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Naturefriends Youth of Germany is a non-profit youth association that designs and delivers non-formal environmental and political education for children, adolescents, and young adults. Its core offerings consist of subsidized youth travel programs (Jugendreisen), nature-based summer camps and leisure activities, and a library of educational publications and toolkits covering climate protection, biodiversity, democratic participation, and radicalization prevention. Programming is organized across state-level Landesverbände and through trained volunteer teamers, with international exchanges extending reach into countries such as Austria, Italy, Senegal, and Benin.

Product overview

Naturfreundejugend Deutschlands is a German youth organization offering a portfolio of youth travel services (Jugendreisen), environmental education programs (Umweltdetektive), climate protection materials (cliMATEs), and educational publications (Impulse series). The organization provides digital resources including the LOCALY Toolkit for local environmental action, Changecity Audioguides for urban exploration, and the 'Hört die Signale' podcast. Core offerings center on nature-based youth travel, educational materials for group leaders (Teamer*innen-Ordner), and international youth work resources (Greening International Youth Work). The portfolio is organized around themes of sustainability, international solidarity, climate protection, and democratic engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FARN (Fachstelle Radikalisierungsprävention und Engagement im Naturschutz): A specialized department addressing radicalization prevention and engagement in nature conservation, established jointly with NaturFreunde.
• Umweltdetektive
• cliMATEs
• LOCALY

Products and services

• Jugendreisen (Youth Travel) Environmentally friendly and socially responsible youth travel offerings including camps, trips, and leisure activities across Germany and internationally, available at subsidized rates to young members.
• Umweltdetektive (Environmental Detectives) Nature exploration and environmental education program for children aged 9-14, with activity books and materials covering trees, water, forests, and wildlife, designed for cross-cultural and multilingual participation.
• cliMATEs – Klimafreund*innen unterwegs Climate protection folder with methods for climate-friendly youth travel, covering mobility, accommodation, catering, and activities to minimize carbon footprints during youth leisure programs.
• LOCALY Toolkit Innovative non-formal learning toolkit for equipping young people with tools to initiate and expand local environmental measures through experimental and non-formal learning methods, available in German, English, Greek, Italian, and Spanish.
• Teamer*innen-Ordner (Group Leader Manual) Comprehensive manual with tips and methods for group leaders working with youth, providing practical guidance for leading youth trips and activities, including JuLeiCa-aligned methodology.
• Hört die Signale Podcast Podcast series 'Listen to the Signals. For a Just Future' covering topics such as European elections, climate justice, youth participation, and policy advocacy, available on the website and major podcast platforms.
• Greening International Youth Work Curriculum Training curriculum from the 'Greening International Youth Work' project aiming to make international youth work more respectful of planetary limits.
• Impulse Publikationen (Impulse Publications) Series of educational publications covering topics like group leadership, international encounters, conflict resolution, first aid, and climate protection for youth work.
• Changecity Audioguides Audio guides for exploring cities like Bremen, Eberswalde, and Freiburg, focusing on urban sustainability, gentrification, and alternative urban development.
• FARN Advisory Services Seminars, consulting, and educational materials offered by the FARN department to other youth organizations, schools, and civil society actors dealing with right-wing extremist influence in environmental and nature conservation contexts.

Quantifiable outcome

• The 'Handeln JETZT!' (Act NOW!) project has provided financial support for youth projects in biological diversity, climate protection, and climate justice through the Young Impact Fund.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Naturfreundejugend Österreich (Naturefriends Youth Austria)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization with a longstanding tradition of international youth work. A delegation from Germany visited Vienna in early 2026 as part of the 100th anniversary year activities ('Fachkräfte-austausch'). The partnership focuses on exchanging experiences in youth work, environmental education, and the tradition of passing on the flame across generations.
• Goethe-Institut AthenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published the LOCALY toolkit as editor (Herausgeber: Stella Saratsi, Goethe-Institut Athen), which was developed to enable young people to take local environmental action through non-formal learning methods across multiple countries.
• FARN (Fachstelle Radikalisierungsprävention und Engagement im Naturschutz)coreOthersA specialized department (Fachstelle) established jointly with the parent organization NaturFreunde Deutschlands to counter völkisch-nationalist and right-wing extremist ideologies in environmental and nature conservation. FARN provides information, seminars, and materials and is led by Lukas Nicolaisen. It is a unique structural commitment representing the organization's core value of anti-fascism.
• EMPOCA (Outdoor Camps for Black Young People)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNaturefriends Youth has publicly expressed solidarity with EMPOCA, a non-profit provider of outdoor camps for Black young people that has been subject to racist attacks. This reflects the organization's commitment to diversity and anti-racism.
• NaturFreunde Deutschlands (Naturefriends Germany - parent organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNaturefriends Youth is the youth wing of NaturFreunde Deutschlands. The parent organization shares facilities, political positions, and mission. Joint initiatives include the FARN department, the 'Love Nature. Not Fascism.' campaign, and the Naturfreundehäuser (Naturefriend houses) used for youth programs.
• #GeradeJetztFürAlle CoalitionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerA broad civil society coalition of 180 organizations to which Naturefriends Youth belongs. The coalition wrote an open letter to Chancellor Olaf Scholz warning against cuts to civil society funding in the federal budget. This coalition amplifies the organization's advocacy voice.
• Climate Strike Alliance PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNaturefriends Youth participates in broad climate strike coalitions alongside organizations such as Attac, BUND, BUNDjugend, Campact, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, GermanZero, Greenpeace, Bündnis Klima-Allianz Deutschland, NAJU, NaturFreunde Deutschlands, Together for Future, WWF Deutschland, and WWF Jugend, issuing joint press releases for events such as the global climate strike on September 20.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Naturfreundejugend Österreich (Naturefriends Youth Austria): Direct sister organization and strategic international partner. Operates an essentially identical youth travel, environmental education, and democratic participation model in Austria — referenced in Naturefriends Youth Germany's own partnership communications.
• International Young Naturefriends (IYNF): The international federation of Naturefriends Youth organizations. Comparable in mission, non-formal education methodology, and international youth exchange programs spanning Europe.
• BUNDjugend: The youth wing of BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany). Active in the same German climate strike coalitions as Naturefriends Youth, with comparable environmental education programming, youth participation formats, and political advocacy mission.
• Naturschutzjugend im NABU (NAJU): The youth organization of Germany's largest nature conservation association (NABU). NAJU runs youth groups, environmental education programs, and nature camps across Germany — directly comparable in mission, target audience, and operating model to Naturefriends Youth.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg (DPSG): Germany's largest Catholic scouting organization. Comparable in youth outdoor programming, group leadership training, and camp infrastructure, with a similarly decentralized state-association structure across Germany.
• Greenpeace Jugend: Youth segment of Greenpeace Germany. Active in the same climate strike coalitions as Naturefriends Youth, with comparable activism and youth political participation focus, anchored in a much larger international brand.
• WWF Jugend: The youth segment of WWF Germany. Operates within a much larger environmental NGO, offering youth programming and climate education — comparable mission but with substantially more institutional resources and brand reach.
• Ring Deutscher Pfadfinder*innenverbände: Umbrella organization for German scouting associations. Comparable in outdoor youth education, group leader (JuLeiCa) training pipelines, and camp delivery — a structurally similar youth-development model at greater scale.

Emerging players

• Youth for Climate Germany (Fridays for Future Germany): German node of the global school-strike climate movement. Overlaps with Naturefriends Youth in climate activism mission and youth political participation, though with a much narrower programming scope focused on mobilization rather than education or travel.

Others

• European Solidarity Corps (EU Youth Programmes): EU-funded framework for youth volunteering and international projects. Not a competitor but a primary funding and partnership channel for Naturefriends Youth's international exchanges and non-formal education work across Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/naturfreundeju
• Facebookfacebook.com/naturfreundejugend.deutschlands

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Naturefriends Youth of Germany