The protection of the environment has been a burning issue for many years, but recently the problem has become even worse. We will have problems with water supplies, not to mention so called smog which used to be a problem only in industrial cities, now it can be felt even in beautiful mountainous areas. Due to the project, we want to raise students’ awareness of environmental problems as the issue concerns all of us and our students will not become responsible adult decision-makers if environmental education is not effective and interesting to them. We are strongly convinced that students must get familiar with ecology in a holistic way which means that we have to pay attention not only to ecological problems but also to students’ attitudes, values, commitments for actions as well as ethical responsibilities for the rational use of resources and for sustainable development. Due to “Let’s get green- raising awareness of ecological problems” project, our students will be exposed to the environment around them and through discovery or presentation will be aware of the environmental hazards caused mainly by human irresponsible actions. As a result, our students, will realize how important it is to take care of the environment and behave in a responsible way that will be beneficial in the long run. In our project we want to concentrate on four main aspects: water,earth and air as the key elements in our environment, and then we want to deal with ways to protect it. As these aspects are part of the curriculum they will be dealt with in school lessons. At our LTTA meetings we will work together with our partners on these issues and see what is done in our EU partner countries. This will be done in workshops and excursions where we will also consult experts from different environmental groups to help us. The students will realize that these environmental issues can only be understood when considered from different angles. This cross-curricular approach which involves teachers from different science subjects and of course specialists from ecological professions. Means of protecting the environment will be another key element in our project work. In this context most students will be aware of the different things they can do to preserve our nature. Starting from recycling waste to using renewable energy. These aspects will be part of the project work at the end. Generally students will work together at home in their lessons or study groups and with the participants of the partner schools via the internet and of course at the LTTA meetings where they have to present the results of their work and meet in common workshops. The final results will be different e-books , an on-line magazine, a project website which will be updated regularly and a brochure. A big difference can be made by producing a meaningful educational program/project that will show students that they can really do something important for themselves and for the other people, including future generations and on this account we need to create a multidisciplinary and hands-on attitude to teaching that can only be achieved when discovering the various fields of educational areas that our partners can offer based on their special skills/expertise. The project will have an impact both inside and outside the involved schools as we will carry out cross-curricular activities in the classroom and ecological campaigns in the local community. Getting more aware of the ecological problems, students are likely to share their knowledge and experience with a wider community. Teachers taking part in the project will learn from each other, present their success and challenges and cooperate to make an impact in schools and societies. They will also improve their language and ICT skills. We need to see how EE is undertaken in each of the five countries involved and how schools deal with the issue as far as their curricula are concerned. We plan to organize 1 joint staff mobility (C1) and 4 LTTAs during which different aspects of EE will be taken into account. Moreover, students will be aware how important it is to work in a international project, as the ecological issue does not know the borders and has nothing to do with different culture, race or religion. However strange it may sound, we should imitate ecology a bit- we all should be fully aware that racial, economical, religious differences must not divide us as people living on one planet. Thus, the project will help both students and teachers become more open-minded, tolerant and friendly to people from other countries. The international work will help the participating teachers become better educators as they will share the knowledge from their own expert areas with others. Language skills, English, Geography, Biology, Chemistry are the main educational areas and subjects that we aim to develop by this project.
Protecting the environment has been a hotly debated topic for many years. With our project we made the students aware of environmental problems, because the problem affects us all. By dealing with the issue, our students became responsible decision-makers with regard to environmental protection. The project wanted our students to recognize the importance of paying attention to the environment and behaving responsibly to preserve a planet worth living in. In our European project, 5 schools from Spain, Poland, Greece, Turkey and Germany worked together on solutions on how to create or deepen ecological awareness at school level. A total of 96 traveling students and 15 traveling teachers were present at each meeting. The school attended mostly involved many more students and teachers. Due to the fact that many activities (e.g. the implementation of the "International Green Day") were also carried out in other classes, over 2,000 students and approx. 200 teachers have benefited from this project. Activities carried out: - A teacher meeting for the precise planning and preparation of the two-year project and four project meetings with the students and teachers involved. In the respective partner countries, we dealt with the following topics together: the problem of water scarcity in Spain, urban air pollution in Istanbul, Turkey, healthy eating and ecological cultivation in Poland and concrete measures for environmental protection in school and everyday life in Greece and Germany. These subject areas were worked out by the project participants in a variety of workshops and should be integrated into the future school curriculum. The project's results and its expected longer-term benefits included: - Production and Distribution of a brochure which includes guidelines for schools to get greener - Establishment of a school garden as a future place of learning - Design of "green" school yards - Establishment of a waste separation system - Production of bio plastic - Annual climate day as an integral part of the school curriculum - The greatest possible avoidance of plastic materials - Car-free day for teachers and students (arrival by bike and public transport) - School party on the topic of "Let's get green" including campaigns for environmental protection - Methodological curriculum on environmental protection in almost every subject - Ecological food as an integral part in the subject "Cooking and Housekeeping" - Documentation of the project (permanent exhibition in the school building and on the school website), introduction of an Erasmus Room - Formation of project groups of pupils and teachers in all partner countries to work on an ecological, sustainable school curriculum - Establishment of "climate monitors" at schools (students who have made it their object to save energy in the classrooms) - Methods of designing a website and blogs. New computer programs and tools were used. - Cooperation with extracurricular partners such as beekeepers, goat farms,and environmental protection organizations Further acquisition of skills and qualifications were the following: - Raising students’ awareness of different ecological problems in all partner countries - Improving students’ communication and ICT skills by making PPT and Poster presentations - Improving students’ language skills, team work skills as well as decision- making competences - Developing students’ self-esteem, confidence and making them aware that their ideas and experiences stand for a valuable contribution to the project - School cooperation with different external environmental groups like Greenpeace, etc