Context/background: In a time where survival from global warming and its effects, climate changes, population growth and fossil fuel depletion make imperative any ecological action, environmental education is a primary objective of the education systems all over Europe and it must be a consistent part of the schools curricula. In our opinion, the three basic topics for a future sustainable society should be the use of R.E.S., recycling and reducing energy consumption. Moreover, as traditional ways of teaching are sometimes not attractive enough to students, innovative and engaging ones must be developed in a continuous process of research and experimentation. -Objectives: The ”Bringing Up New Eco-Scientists" project is a partnership of five secondary education schools that intend to exchange good practices in the fields of recycling, R.E.S. and the reduction of energy consumption after calculating the ecological footprint and the energy efficiency of their schools. We mean to upgrade the teaching and learning quality focusing on the scientific area (mathematics, science and technology) and to provide a holistic view on our future existence. We also aim at improving ICT and foreign language competences, foster knowledge and active use of the specific scientific and technical micro-language and enhance scientific competences through direct experience In addition, getting to know good practices, within an environmental approach, used in enterprises throughout Europe will contribute to make students realize both the need for adjustment to the labor market’s demands and the need for a continuous development of good practices through lifelong learning. - Number and profile of participants: Groups of 30 students and 3 teachers in each of the five partner organisations, in total 150 people, will be the direct participants with active involvement. Both teachers and students, in their mid or late teens, come from secondary education bodies. The teaching staff will consist of people with expertise in the field of science, technology, English, IT and all subjects relevant to the project, which are experimenting with the approach to new environmental practices integrating them into the formal or non-formal school education. Enterprises using R.E.S., promoting recycling and cutting down in energy consumption and the Laboratory Science Centers as well as the Environmental Education Centers will enhance the peer Knowledge in the relevant fields, or will get involved in the dissemination of the activities presented. -Description of activities: The outcomes of this partnership will be mainly fostering the exchange of good practices all over Europe regarding the environmental education. The project outputs will be surveys contacted by all partners and a series of learning activities (workshops, laboratory activities and visits) organised by each school in relation to specific environmental topics. Every learning activity will last two months and will consist of specific stages: organisation, preparation, implementation. During a short term learning activity of approximately one week the rest of the partners who will act as multipliers will be introduced . The final evaluation will take place through web questionnaires -Methodology: With the teachers’ guidance, visits to enterprises, relevant to the project’s objectives, will be organized. Through active participation in workshops, gathering data through surveys and making valuable use of it, experimental approaches in the laboratory, testing, evaluating and modifying if necessary the project’s outcomes, the student’s process of being educated in the ecological awareness will be capitalized on. The project results will be uploaded on its website and on different social networking sites. Multiplier activities and events will disseminate them. - Results, impact and potential long term benefits: The main results will be: - the production of an Energy Efficiency Certificate for each partner - an application calculating the school’s ecological footprint - a collection of guidelines, best-practice examples, video records of the experiments and workshops - Gathering of European wide data concerning the energy consumption in school buildings - an online community and resource website for environmental good practices The participants are expected to improve their competences in the English language and their digital literacy through collaborative methods, grow their ecological awareness and undertake ecological initiatives with the exchange of good environmental practices, conveyed in the educational process, thus making science lessons more appealing. In the long run the development of a wider interest in diminishing the consumption of energy and starting recycling in schools, transforming gradually their buildings into energy efficient buildings, and opening new professional horizons for the future generations, linked to the general environmental policy are expected.
All the objectives planned in this project have been achieved during these two years. There has been an exchange of good practices in the fields of recycling, RES and reduction of energy consumption among the teachers involved in the project. The topics of these practices are the environment, recycling, the reduction of the consumption of energy and different chemical and physical practices. Almost all the activities carried out during the mobilities have been included in the booklet of activities, which was created at the end of the project. It is important for us that our students develop some knowledge about the amount of energy that they consume at school and home. For this reason, different activities during the project were focused to calculate their foodprint. Another activity related to this aspect is the implementation of a recycling survey. Students asked about 150 people of each country, different questions related to how they recycle different stuff, and also questions to know how they recycle it in each country. This activity is part of a wider objective: the exchange of good practices. Another objective accomplished during the project is related to our students. They shared a lot of activities and experiences in the different learning and teaching activities. In the satisfaction surveys it can be observed that this is one of the best points for our students. Moreover, other important points are that they improved their English skills and also learnt about the traditions and culture of the different countries. Another objective of this project was that our students worked in the STEM area (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). In fact different activities have been developed in this direction during the mobilities. Such actions aimed at upgrading the quality of teaching and learning with a focus on the scientific field (Mathematics, Science and Technology) and on sharing of good practices with an environmental approach, which are used in businesses all around Europe. Referring at the same time to personal professional experiences. Students were presented "green" professions related to environmental protection and sustainable development, with increasing demand in the labor market. In this way, the program was linked to their professional orientation.