Project „Vadóc” „By taking the resolution of the UN and several international agreements into account – and because we will have to face several serious environmental issues in the coming decades - the Council of the European Union asked the member states to take actions to provide the sustainability of the education and training.” The expected tasks are mostly in line with the expectations from the „Zöld” kindergartens and eco-schools: the topic of the sustainability should be getting into the study materials, proper trainings have to be provided for the pedagogue and non-pedagogue employees in favor of eco-awareness. It’s also important the multi- and interdisciplinary cooperation between the pedagogue, and to cooperate with the parents and with the local organizations. In this project the Szent Jácint Görögkatolikus Óvoda is the coordinating institution. As the Hungarian Zöld Bázisóvoda, it provides the good practices and the wide range of dissemination activites, since the scope of it covers Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, but the professional relationships cover the whole country. The Villanytelepi Óvoda Románia started toward the Zöld Óvoda, currently it’s working on the development of its profile and the renewal of its professional methodology. The Boldog Salkaházi Sára Iskolaközpont Szlovákia provides the whole process of becoming „Zöld” for all of the children in the institution. Together with our partners our goal is the compilation of a practical program in scientific approach, based on special „Zöld” days. The kindergarten provides one of the most efficient learning possibility for the children of the institution. As the holidays in general, the „Zöld” holidays are also stand out of the weekdays, they make the life of the kindergarten and the environmental education more colorful, more beautiful, and more special. The processing of the content of the illustrious day on a complex way happens by designing of various forms of activities. In this way the active participation of the community of the kindergarten in the natural celebrations and in the „Zöld” illustrious days is achieved. The environmental education is not limited to the trainings, because it’s involved in the whole life of the kindergarten. This process is carefully planned by the kindergarten teacher, so during the gaining of experience the children develop their perception skills, thinking abilities, language understanding and -expressing capabilities, and their social relationships start to form. Showing them the beauty of the nature establishes their attraction to the nature. Who, what could a child take care of? The younger ones, the people around him/her! Does he/she see or hear them? Does he/she know and feel, that the life of the plants and the animals are often in danger? During the activities the children slowly understand, that the people are responsible for the preservation of the nature, and that’s something what a little kid can also do for. For example he/she doesn’t use soap or shampoo in living water, doesn’t tear flowers away, and doesn’t break down budding branches. During the cooperation with our partners we get to know each other’s culture, and it’s important to give a positive picture about us and about our work beyond the border as well. We make the events freely available to the visitors by the webpages. During the conferences and training courses we try to achieve to help other institutions to become „Zöld”. At the end of the project we document our experiences on the webpage and on DVD.
As a project coordinator and an institution entitled "Heritage Green Kindergarten", we implemented an environmental awareness program with our partners, which resulted in a change in the attitude of our kindergarten and their families. We used the most effective way of learning about sustainability and loving nature: learning in the real natural environment, based on experience. This resulted not only in a positive change in the relationship to nature, but also in the development of mathematical skills / competences, science and social competences. Positive changes were measured during satisfaction measurements in all components of competences, attitudes and behaviors. During the first year of the program, we implemented 11 projects based on the "Green Holidays and Celebrations". Over the next 12 months we experienced another 11 projects, but they were all based on collaborative work, as we took over elements, materials and methods from partners' projects. A practical program (CD) based on green days and with a scientific approach has been compiled. The completed project collection is suitable to serve as a model for useful ideas for home and abroad kindergartens. As a coordinating institution, we have made it available online for the kindergartens we are affiliated with. As a Hungarian Green Basic Kindergarten, we have secured a wide dissemination of good practice, although our scope is Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, but our professional contacts extend across the country. Our partner, the Villanytelep Kindergarten (RO), has moved towards to become a Green Kindergarten, and as a result of the project, the Green content has been part of its' program, and its' image has changed in this direction. Boldog Salkaházi Sára School Center (SLO) provided the children with the whole process of becoming Green, as the elements of our project were taken over by their school. They said that they learned a lot in methodology, and their vision changed. Satisfaction measurements have also improved for partners, and parents are happy to choose their institution as the number of children has increased. We have learned how to join and organize campaigns so that they can be understood by preschool children. We have provided one of the most effective learning opportunities for children in the day-to-day of kindergarten: living the holidays, as green holidays stand out from the crowd, make them more beautiful and special. The content of this remarkable day was processed in a complex way by planning various activities. This is how the kindergarten community actively participated in activities related to nature holidays, the "green" days. The project involved 400 kindergarten children and more than 50 teachers from 3 institutions in 3 countries, and hundreds of families were involved in joint campaigns and events. We created a "Project Collection" for teachers, a "Sensitive Toys" collection for parents and educators, a "Green Kitchen" recipe collection, which brought together the descriptions of tried-and-true national dishes for all those interested.