It is important that youngsters become aware of the problems of other countries and of the actions (to be) taken. Human activity has a negative impact on our natural environment . The ecological crisis is a consequence of the past (mis)behavior of the human race and we feel it is important to raise pupils' awareness of the ecological issues we are currently faced with, especially since the younger people will have to live with the negative consequences which become obvious and visible. Environmental issues are transnational by their very nature, which calls for cross-border projects. It is important that youngsters become aware of the problems of other countries and of the actions (to be) taken. The project participants should be encouraged to reflect on the consequences of their own behavior and their approach towards the environment. They will be motivated to look for possible solutions. Participants will also consider the role of politics in the environment issues. The project focuses on six themes, namely: 1) the impact of our lifestyles on the natural environment and vice versa; 2) energy, water and nature; 3) food, vitality, sustainability; 4) circular economy, a means of reducing garbage and of rationally using the scarce resources; 5) science and research: mortality of bees; 6) green technology. Students will learn through project and experiential work which will be performed in small mixed-nationality collaborative groups by using English. Participants will acquire essential skills, such as communicating in the target language, improving language skills, critical and creative thinking, problem solving, global and cultural awareness, civic literacy and citizenship, technology literacy, etc. Students will also conduct research and learn about the identification of a problem, finding solutions and presenting and evaluating the results from the project activities. This activity will involve four guest students per visiting school and two accompanying persons. The selection of participants will be based on level of maturity. Responsible and reliable students interested in the individual topics will be selected. Participating organizations will gain insights into different school environments and policies. Furthermore they will promote the European values in the participating organizations and encourage international mobility of students. The organizations will make connections by involving new external partners. The expected results are related to the individual project activities, namely: - raise pupils' awareness of the ecological issues, - pupils will realize that their acts can make a great difference, - knowledge of the environmental situation in the other participating countries, - knowledge of the latest technological innovations in the area of durability. Furthermore tangible products like research reports, a flyer, a video documentary, a videolog, a beehive, a questionnaire, presentations, three-dimensional usable objects produced by 3-D printing on the basis of recyclable material, recipe book, solar panels etc. will result from the project.
Througout the project entitled "The environment is our future, the environment is Europe's future" four Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, German and Luxembourgish students worked on the following topics: - sustainable food - energy and ecology - ecological lifestyle - circular economy - nature and science - sustainable energy and automotive They were between 15 and 17 years old and were chosen by their teachers based on their motivation, interest and maturity. In the course of the activities they familiarized themselves with environmental problems and found ways to reduce their own environmental footprint. A wide variety of topics related to sustainability were discussed. Each country put its own emphasis. This gave the students more insight into the developments in the field of sustainability from various international perspectives. They were given the opportunity to experience the possibilities the different countries see in achieving a sustainable economy and society, the way they deal with the environment, and what measures are taken to protect the environment. In particular the international aspect led to a broader view of sustainability. Each topic was approached from different disciplines. Thus, several disciplines were involved in each project (for instance biology, economics, engineering, physics, chemistry, art). Specialists from such disciplines were invited to inspire the students and to provide more information. Visits to companies and the deployment of specialists from the various disciplines offered more expertise and a broader view at the problem. Through debating, creative activities, experiments, workshops etc. students reached the most important aim of our project: to raise people's awareness of ecological issues. Moreover they improved their language skills and teamwork abilities.