Environmental pollution through waste is a major problem worldwide and cannot be ignored even in the school institution. Both the separation of the waste and the large amount of waste present difficulties. A group of interested Finnish and German students should address this problem. It is planned to offer an environmental club at both locations from the 2020/21 school year onwards, which will deal with various aspects of environmental protection/sustainability and above all focus on the project topic of waste separation and waste saving. Participants are 14 students from both schools aged 13 to 15 years. One aim of the project is to sensitize the pupils and to create an awareness of the worldwide problem of "garbage" and "waste separation". The students should be given an impulse to become active in their own school (and in the partner school) and to contribute to the improvement of waste separation and the reduction of waste. The exchange between the partner schools has the further objectives of supporting each other in the implementation, exchanging ideas and implementing concrete improvement measures at both schools. In the working groups, the reasons for ineffective waste separation (e.g. ignorance, indifference, ...) are to be identified and the problem documented with the help of digital media, e.g. by means of a video. This should make the pupils aware of how much waste is produced in the school alone and how the environment is polluted by improper waste disposal. The participants of the clubs send each other the two videos in order to use them as a basis for a common exchange. The aim is to identify both differences and similarities between the two schools with regard to dealing with waste and to exchange, develop and test possible courses of action in the schools. During the course of the project, the students and teachers work on the content of the problem in the clubs and lessons and develop concrete ideas for solving the problem. There is a regular digital exchange between the two schools. Activities include the implementation and evaluation of a student survey on the topic. The young people then develop concrete measures for improvement and integrate them into the everyday life of the school. Concrete improvement measures could be, for example, that recycled paper is used instead of fresh fibre paper throughout the school. Furthermore, an interactive rally on the subject of recycling is to be developed, which can be used by a created QR code. Videos with instructions for the disposal of specific waste products are also to be produced and broadcast via the screens in the school building to inform all pupils about the correct separation of recyclable materials. Different apps are used for the production of the videos and/or presentations, thus enhancing the media competence of the students. Here peer learning is an important part of the work, as students and teachers should coach each other. The first two meetings (November 2020 and March 2021) between the participating teachers have the purpose of evaluating activities already carried out by the project groups and discussing further contents and procedures and their feasibility. In joint workshops the teachers are to train each other and develop the didactic-methodical approach. Furthermore, the use of the eTwinning platform will be reflected upon and, if necessary, structured differently. It is also a matter of making arrangements as to which apps and programs are to be used for further work and e.g. for the creation of the work results. During the reciprocal student visits (September 2021 and May 2022), the project groups get a picture of the products that have been jointly developed beforehand (e.g. a developed rally on the subject of waste separation) and document and reflect on the implementation, successes and possible improvements at the respective locations. This should result in a joint presentation (e.g. PowerPoint, video etc.) which documents the development of the project topic at both schools. The video should be presented in both schools at suitable occasions, e.g. in lessons, during a project week, at an information event at the school, in the school building during a break in the yard, in order to reach as many pupils as possible and sensitize them to the topic. The video can also be used as a working basis for the continuation of the environmental club in order to achieve long-term further development.
From the school year 2020/21, environmental working groups were offered at both locations, which dealt with the topics of environmental protection, sustainability, waste separation and waste-saving. 12 students took part in each of them. Due to the corona pandemic (from spring 2020), it was difficult for the German school to find participants for the working group, as it did not take place weekly and students did not constantly participate in the working group. One purpose of the project was to sensitize the students and to create awareness of the worldwide problem of waste/waste separation. The students were given an impulse to become active themselves in their school (and in the partner school) and to contribute to the improvement of waste separation and the reduction of waste volumes. The exchange of schools had the further purposes of supporting each other in the implementation, exchanging ideas and implementing concrete improvement measures at the schools. Unfortunately, the purposes could not be implemented as planned, as the schools were partly closed due to the pandemic and the students had no regular contact with each other. The students in the same school and both partnerschools across the countries had no regular contact. The exchange took place in that the Finnish and German teachers exchanged information via e-mail and Skype. The exchange of students took place largely via Snapchat. The working groups also created introduction videos of themselves, which the teachers forwarded to the other school. At Pönitzer working group, it was first digitally documented (photos) how waste separation works at the school. These photos were used to talk about the reasons for ineffective waste separation (e.g. ignorance, indifference, ...). The working group in Mäntyharju tackled the problem of food waste in their school (canteen) and determined what amount (kg) of food is thrown away. The reason for this was determined to be that some students took too large portions and did not eat them. Through this documentation, the students became aware of how much waste is produced / improperly disposed of in the school alone and how large the food waste is. During the duration of the project, the students and teachers worked in the working groups on the content of the problem and developed concrete ideas for problem solving. The Pönitz school drew up a list of products that were often thrown away at school and developed an explanatory video on how to dispose of them correctly / separate them. This was/will be broadcast in the corridors of the school and can thus be viewed regularly by all students of the school. It is also to be used in the school in the long term, in which it will continue to be broadcast and, for example, shown and discussed in the introductory week of the 5th grade. The Finnish working group created posters on which they drew the attention of the other students of the school to the high level of food waste and called for them to take smaller portions in the canteen. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the times for teacher and student exchanges specified in the application could not be managed. Therefore, only one exchange of teachers took place, during which the two German teachers visited their colleagues in Mäntyharju (Nov./Dec.2021). At the meeting, they exchanged views about the activities, discussed further content and processes as well as their feasibility. There was also talk about the use of different apps and their scope of application. During the student visit to Pönitz, the focus was on the topics of "Upcycling" and "Zero Waste". For example, the students created planters/pen holders (upcycling) from old Tetrapaks and produced various new products plastic-free with everyday products (zero waste). On the return journey, the Finnish group visited a shop that manufactures and sells upcycled products. Digital media were used by the fact that the project groups jointly created Kahoot quizzes in English about the topics (recycling, upcycling, environmental pollution, sustainability), so that they can later be used at both schools. During the student visit to Mäntyharju, the German AG got an idea of the finished work results (posters on food waste / tips on waste disposal) of the Finnish AG. In the further course of the exchange, additional information texts on the known topics were written and QR codes were created. These were installed on different areas in the school and can now be accessed by all students. Furthermore, the students created posters together that draw attention to the topics of environmental pollution, sustainability, global warming and hang in a central location in the school.