People who live on the planet Earth can choose between two options for the future: we can choose to handle our environment with care and accept sustainability, build a society that respects sustainability or follow the idea that someday in the future, humanity may lose a healthy life in a healthy environment. In the past many civilizations self-destructed themselves and got lost on the timeline of history. But today, the world is globalized, and harming our environment can have global consequences. Parents' surveys show the need for interesting and actively carried out natural science activities and international cooperation of the school. Through the project Promoting the development of personal knowledge and creating a sustainable lifestyle, the team leaders and teachers of the partner schools will create opportunities for future cooperation, strategies, orientations and needs of this project: - how to develop and strengthen applied science knowledge and find connections with other areas, - how to extend the new school practices to the participating schools in the project, - how to transfer problem based learning and formative learning to the participating schools, - how student's start up ideas can be used in the partner schools, - how to find ways affecting the professional choices of pupils in order to find green / environmental jobs, - how to transfer the achievements of the project to the families of pupils and follow lifelong learning, - how to convey the idea of an outdoor classroom to participating schools and to strengthen the development of the partnership, - how to present the results of the project with video production or journalism (interviews, short reports, news) - how to follow the example of a school that is successful and rewarded in the ecological field, - how to promote the field participation towards social roles, - how to promote an entrepreneurial mindset, creativity, critical thinking. - how to spread less known European languages and to improve the knowledge of English, - how to integrate activities into classes. The project has two main target groups: pupils and teachers. This project aims is to develop a stimulating learning environment that will enable us to combine natural sciences with awareness of the importance of keeping the planet Earth for future generations. We also combine the field of social and economic development. We will incorporate problem learning and experiential learning, we follow the elements formative assessment. 4 principals and 18 teachers will participate in the project, they are mostly English teachers , science and class teachers. In this project, the number of teachers and other school staff and other associates will help wit the project. The age of the participating pupils will be 12 to 15 years. Activities and workshops of the elementary school from Poljčane are: cooperation with the Learning Polygon Dole, the classroom of sustainable development in nature, where gifted pupils will work in groups with pupils with fewer opportunities, we will upgrad the research task on the topic of Creating tools for measuring the size of the Planet Earth and the implementation of measurements, problem-based learning about the positive impact of the school geothermal heating on the environment, the idea to transfer the idea of implementing a similar solution to the issue of heating and hot water supply to the participating schools, how to clean and revive the river Dravinje and how the results can affect water quality, a poetry workshop in the languages of the participating schools and the poetry evening of the best poems at the Bird Watching Observatory near the Dravinja River. the process of producing video contents will be part of the project, too. The Makola Elementary School will prepare an artistic / sculptural workshop on the topic of the Blue Planet Earth with the cooperation with Forma viva, a traditional statue workshop in the Municipality of Makole, where natural materials such as wood, stone, paper are used, presentation of local tourist attractions, socializing by a camp fire, listening and telling stories related to the nature. The Vilnius School will expand, present, and transfer ideas of replacing plastic straps with durable, metallic ones to partner schools, the idea of careers in sustainability and environmental responsibility jobs, participating in the local film festival, presenting sustainability, the research on waste reduction will be presented, and present the green mountain resort.
The project promoted the development of personal knowledge and a sustainable lifestyle for each of us. At the beginning of the project, four participating schools presented activities to the students, teachers, principals, parents, and local communities. Here are the results: we got rid of plastic bottles and we all use sustainable bottle containers, we don't use plastic straws, instead of plastic bags for meals we have reusable cotton bags, we planted Miyawaki forests, and we all took part in Penpals, and we started student correspondence in English (hand written letters), improved knowledge of English and students met lesser-known languages. Contents of sustainability were focused on personal, family, community, state, regional, and international perspectives. Students realized they can have a positive effect on their own lives and the lives of others, they have the power to act, and to take an active role in communities as future citizens. In 2019 project coordinators met for the first time. We made plans for future activities, but we didn't know Covid-19 would change the plans. Love Sustainable Society, a short name for the project (L stands for Lithuania, S for Slovenia, and S for Serbia), got a new flag (a Slovenian team), a new logo (a Lithuanian team), and the project anthem (a Slovenian team). Students felt connected and part of the project. We met regularly on Googe Meet, emails connected us, and we created social media groups. Videos on the project and school life, Christmas and New Years' greetings, and videos were exchanged each year. Students made decorations from sustainable materials. Students prepared presentations on Christmas in the three countries, and news about the project was posted on eTwinning, school web pages, in local newspapers, radio stations, and on local TV. We designed the project bulletin boards, we presented and learned about partnering countries. Students made PPT presentations and we had class discussions. We organized flea markets at schools. Students made school surveys and discussed the waste food problem and they presented results. At all schools, students tried to reduce food losses and food waste. They also carried out many activities to protect special, old and beautiful trees in their municipalities. Students were motivated and made a plan on how to find such special trees, what to do to protect them, and ensure a healthy, green legacy for future generations. Students prepared an online questionnaire, using MS Forms, later a survey was made, and the trees were looked for and photographed. We prepared presentations in school halls. We wrote articles, took photos, wrote poems about trees, and prepared short videos. We collected seeds for seed banks. We still collect batteries, light bulbs, plastic corks, electronics, paper, and organic waste to be recycled. We collect plastic corks to be donated. We discussed sustainable green jobs at the school parliament discussions in Slovenia, and in Lithuanian and Serbian students discussed the topic in the eighth class. They realized there are many green jobs, but in the future, many more jobs will aim at sustainability preserving or restoring environmental quality. Students of four partner schools organized activities on international Earth Day, Forests Day, Water Day, and Bee Day. They emphasized the importance of sustainability on different levels because sustainability is about small changes we all can make to help look after the planet. In Slovenia we hosted two activities, one activity took place in Vilnius, and one in Serbia. We didn't realize the fifth activity. We actually realized many more than we planned at the beginning. One activity was not realized, but the project. We shared new school practices, problem-based learning, and formative assessments, but we didn't share start-up ideas because the Lithuanian eighth-graders, who started the project left school. We shared ideas about green jobs and the importance of social roles, transferred ideas of the project to the students' families, and show them how to follow lifelong learning. Ideas of outdoor classrooms were shared among schools (measurements of water quality and the size of the planet). We realized video production and writing articles for newspapers, shared ecological ideas, promoted entrepreneurial mindset, creativity, and critical thinking, spread less known European languages, and improved our knowledge of English.