Slowly people are starting to feel the effects of climate change. This topic was discussed at all 3 participating schools and caused concern. The students at the school in Kaufering repeatedly experience droughts and the record temperatures in summer. In the Liguria region, in recent years and especially this winter, the students have witnessed torrential rains with landslides and destruction that had not occurred for centuries; in Iceland the melting of the glaciers is progressing to a degree, visible with the naked eye. To counteract these changes and to actively work on improving the situation, actions have to be taken. From our experience, we are convinced that well-founded information in school already results in small changes in behavior. However, direct application and integration of this knowledge into one's own living environment is even more effective. By combining practical activities in the vicinity of the school and the creation of a corresponding theoretical basis in the classroom (pars pro totos), we achieve an understanding of mechanisms in nature and an emotional relationship with nature based on the following projects. School Oasis, Olive Grove and Water Feature, focus on a responsible way of life and a global perspective through activities in different climates. Due to the emergence of technical questions during the realization of the projects, all connected aspects like workshops, own research, as well as lectures in science and technology will be experienced and understood as something that is important for such a project and in also everyday life. The joint implementation of the projects and the creation of biotopes and enjoyable environments in the vicinity of the schools make it possible to experience that one can change the environment sustainably through one's own actions and is not forced into the role of the often critical but passive spectator. In particular, one's own attempts to unseal and convert lifeless areas into small living spaces, to cultivate gardens and groves (in Germany and Italy) and find out about the diversity, self-regulation and adaptation of wild and self-contained landscapes (in Iceland) make it tangible how diverse and complex the interrelations of nature are and how precious and delicate a natural balance is. Through the appreciation of one's own environment as a cultural area through the renaturation of the school environment or the recultivation of an olive grove, the involvement of parents, older villagers and experts to learn cultural techniques, the scientific preparation in the classroom, the exploration and comparison of regional stories about nature, the practical involvement of the project partners in this work and the public relations work will all increase the reputation of the educational work of the school, as well as contribute to the integration of the school in the village/town, region and Europe and elevate the school's self-confidence. Students between the ages of 12 and 15 will be involved. Eight students from each school are allowed to travel to the project meetings. The students will be selected according to their commitment to the project work groups. At every school, however, the number of students and teachers involved in all activities is as large as possible. Specifically, the student will contribute on establishing a school oasis with a fountain in Kaufering, the recultivation of an olive grove in Ceriana and a water feature in the school playground in Isafjördur. The practical projects are promoted jointly during the project meetings, but also by each school individually in between the meetings. The theoretical knowledge acquisition takes place directly in the specialized lessons as well as within working groups and in workshops during the meetings. Working groups from the 3 schools regularly exchange information online. Using chat, discussion groups and online conferences, research and planned activities as well as partial aspects of the implementation of projects are discussed. A film documentation of the work over the two years, exhibitions at the participating schools and accompanying press work will be used for public relations. With this approach, we will be able to implement the ideas of climate and environmental protection, social inclusion, the strengthening of the natural sciences in everyday learning, and above all the idea of European cooperation and solidarity, firmly and profoundly among the participating students.
The project „inspired by nature“ was carried out by the scuola media in Ceriana, which is part of the Instituto Comprensivo Sanremo Levante school network in Liguria, and the Kaufering middle school in Bavaria. The motivation for our project is the increasingly noticeable impact of climate change. To improve the situation it is necessary to counteract this and to actively work with the next generation. Based on experience, we are convinced that little changes of behavior can be achieved already solely through information at school, but much more can be accomplished through direct application and integration of this knowledge into one's own life. By combining practical activities close to school and creating a corresponding theoretical basis in lessons, an understanding of connections in nature and an emotional relationship with nature should be obtained , finaly leading to a responsible way of life. We focused on the topics of water and olive cultivation. In Kaufering, the activity focused on work on a fountain of imagination, which was intended to transform the sealed asphalt area of the school yard into a small natural oasis. Through the development of ideas, sketches, models and a motivational movie “water-spring of life”, the construction of a fountain in the school yard was gradually approached. Preparatory work such as the creation of a life-size unicorn head as a positive mold for a concrete cast or the production of tiles which were painted with motifs from regional natural myths and which were to be used to tile part of the surface of the fountain took place in joint work at the project meetings. Pupils/Students did preliminary work in art, history and language classes, , where local myths and legends from the respective region and stories about nature and the local river Lech and Armea were examined. A video that captured the visit of three local senior citizens who told the students about how they interacted with nature in the time of their youth in both countries influenced this creative work in terms of content and motifs. The technical implementation of the well construction resulted in a number of challanges, which were solved with the help of experts. The motiv of water was permanantly guiding us and the natural history aspect was pursued with research and excursions into nature. In Ceriana the primary focus was olive cultivation and its interaction with the Ligurian landscape and people's lives. The students experienced this world through practical activity, by building dry stone walls that support the terraces, by pruning olive trees, harvesting and sorting olives, pickling them in salmoia guided by instruction of an old farmer's wife. They were singing the old songs and could compare traditional and modern oil production while visiting historic and modern olive mills. A theoretical conclusion was a visit to the regional olive growing museum in Imperia. At the end, the students from the Kaufering school celebrated together with the Italian guests an all-day final party with a screening of the project video “inspired by nature”, a large exhibition with photos, texts, an e-book and objects such as the unicorn head and the tiles, and a tasting of specialties and olive oil from Ceriana and the typical Bavarian setting up of a maypole in the schoolyard. Everything is captured in the project video. Our own attempts at unsealing and converting lifeless areas into living small spaces and cultivating gardens and groves showed how diverse the connections between landscape, people and nature are, and how precious and delicate a natural balance is. About the appreciation of one's own environment as a cultural space through the renaturation of the school environment or the recultivation of an olive grove, the involvement of parents, older villagers and experts to learn cultural techniques, the scientific preparation in lessons, the research and comparison of regional stories about nature, the practical involvement of the project partners in this work and the public presentation resulted in an increase in the reputation of the school's educational work, a contribution to the integration of the school in the locality, region and Europe and an increase in the school's self-confidence. The extensive work on the fountain was not completed by the end of the project period, but is being continued by the school. The entire project was captured on video and edited into a one-hour movie, which is available on the Kaufering Middle School homepage. Movie „water spring of live“, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7oobX9vwyg Movie „Inspired by nature“: https://mittelschule-kaufering.de/erasmus-plus/