Encouragement of natural alternatives and ecological and / or innovative horticultural production measures to promote the consideration of horticultural actions on the protection of the environment in the EU. Acronyme : Bio-Alternativ This project is a strategic partnership of vocational education and training for the exchange of good practice between seven partners from Estonia, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Spain who participate with 233 people directly involved and some 1,500 people who benefit. Emphasis is placed on the promotion of cooperation between schools and enterprises, since it is of great importance for the success of horticultural students' career to obtain, at an early stage, an intensive overview of the activities to be able to relate what they learn to practice. To be able to provide current and educational content in vocational training, continuous and versatile training of teachers, trainers and mentors is essential and inescapable. Teachers participating are given the opportunity to benefit from training in horticultural techniques, to exchange their views on pedagogical and vocational practice, which will help them to design their courses more in line with professional practice. To this end, we are based in this strategic partnership on natural alternatives, ecological and / or innovative horticultural production techniques, in which future horticulturalists will increase their chances in the European labor market and will also have opportunities to create their own businesses, thus also contributing to job creation. As environmental protection in the EU is increasingly important, the majority of activities serve to sustainably strengthen environmental awareness among both students and teachers. This is how we chose the title of the partnership: Encouragement of natural alternatives and ecological and / or innovative horticultural production measures to promote the consideration of horticultural actions on the protection of the environment in the EU. To achieve this objective, we have chosen subjects from different fields of horticulture, which are among the subjects taught by most of the partners but which often play only a minor role: Effective microorganisms in horticulture, alternatives to conventional plant protection, landscape insertion of perennial plants, innovatif development of parks and gardens, implementation of organic vegetable gardens on abondoned land of our towns and villages, cultivation and use of wild medicinal herbs, in-vitro multiplication of plants. We organize blended mobilities (travel plus virtual mobility) on these subjects. The target groups are therefore students as well as teachers and trainers who are not only accompanying persons but active participants in these training sessions given in a very practical way. The added value for the partner teachers is the increase of their motivation since they see how they can incorporate these professional aspects and these forms of teaching into their next lessons. This reasoning is based on a very clear and obvious need: in all fields of horticulture, companies desperately seek professionals who are well trained with broad general knowledge, as well as with specific technical and practical expertise. Through collaboration with local companies and the practical implementation of training, students recognize the direct application of what has been learned, which results in an increase in motivation. In addition, this approaches them to the entrepreneurial spirit and action, so towards their ability to become independent entrepreneurs with successful concepts. Since we have chosen curriculum themes from the partners, teachers will continue to apply and improve these methods of teaching in a more practical way even beyond this partnership.
The purpose of this project was to provide a supplement to the regular vocational training or school in horticulture and to provide students with an overview of everyday working life, so as to obtain new knowledge and skills on natural alternatives and ecological and / or innovative horticultural production measures which will increase their chances on the European labor market. Due to this they also will be able to become aware of the influence of horticultural actions on the protection of the environment in the EU. At the same time the teachers had the chance to benefit from a training in horticultural techniques, to exchange their view of the pedagogical and professional practice which helped them and will help them to design their course more up to professional practice. To achieve these goals, we selected subjects from different areas of horticulture, which are among the subjects taught by most partners but which often played only a minor role in the curriculum: - The ecological production of herbs and condiments and their transformation to broaden the range of production and to reinforce the securing of the operating result, as additional pillar of a company; - The ecological or alternative protection of plants in peri-urban areas in small-scale horticultural production companies, which allows them, in addition, to offer a consulting service to other producers or amateur gardeners; - The importance of native perennials in horticulture and the use of their cultivars to promote biodiversity in the ecosystem; - the use of effective micro-organisms to improve soil activity, the suppression of soil-borne plant diseases and thus reduce the use of chemical pesticides; - The propagation of plants by in vitro culture to obtain virus-free planting stocks and to help secure endangered plant species in their natural habitat, such as native orchids; - Promote environmental awareness by showing the different possibilities of using native medicinal plants; - Design of gardens of ecological interest, using native plant species and regional materials as an incentive to create more innovative garden concepts. These are subjects of horticultural training that were already taught in some countries where teachers showed their approach to colleagues while students had the chance to learn at their schools rather neglected subjects. The target groups were thus students, especially those in upper secondary education but also students in alternating or social promotion programs, as well as teachers and trainers who were not only accompanying persons but many active participants in these training courses organized in a very practical way. The added value for partner teachers has been increased motivation as they have been able to see how they can incorporate these professional aspects and forms of teaching into their next lessons. Thanks to the collaboration with companies from the region and the practical implementation of the training, the students were able to observe the direct application of what was learned which led to an increase in their motivation. Students were able to independently acquire skills and abilities in the required areas, thanks to the high quality basic training we provided them.