The Fridays for Future movement motivates students worldwide to work towards limiting CO2 emissions to meet the climate goals. As vocational schools in the fields of agriculture, biotechnology and environmental technology (Germany), and specializing in horticulture as well as agricultural technology and machinery (Czech Republic), we regard it as our duty to teach skills and knowledge necessary to tackle the supposed contradictions between productive agriculture and environmental protection in a constructive way. The current project sets out to teach about technological and ecological concepts and to enable our students to have new experiences in the area of active environmental and climate protection. The leading questions in this context are the preservation of biological diversity in an agricultural landscape and the efficient energy production through renewable energy systems. In order to connect project-related experiences with on-the-job experience, project results are going to be integrated and further developed in the lessons that accompany the internships done by our students. By focussing on technology-oriented solution approaches, we want our students to perceive MINT subjects and corresponding professional fields positively. Students within the age range of 16 to 19 who are interested in a school exchange are going to participate in the project. They are going to be accompanied by at least one language teacher and a second teacher. Every year two groups of 16 students and teachers from the partner schools are going to travel to the respective host country. Additionally, a smaller group from Germany will travel twice to the Christmas exhibition in Litomyšl, and Czech teachers who are involved in the project will attend the project-oriented seminar in Triesdorf. In keeping with a quote from Konrad Lorenz who said that “we only love what we know and we only protect what we love”, knowledge of the species is essential for the efficient implementation of nature conservation efforts. In order to acquire this knowledge, our students will genetically determine plants and insects in binational teams by help of a smartphone app, and this collected information will enable them to produce an illustrated quiz game for fellow students or younger children. In Triesdorf regional flora and fauna are part of the curriculum. In Litomyšl the care and study of exotic animals is a major school subject. We are going to have our students lay out and cultivate blooming flower fields with honey plants in both countries in order for the students to put their acquired skills into practice. In order to equip the teachers with the necessary expertise for the project, a seminar will be held to train the teachers specific skills and methods that they will need to manage and carry out the project. Topics such as the production of biomass, the efficiency of photovoltaics and wind energy, e-mobility and political aspects regarding environmental policies will be discussed. This will enable the teachers to pass on their knowledge and answer specific questions asked by their students. There will also be a practically oriented study course "renewable energies" for the students from Litomyšl and Triesdorf alike, with the main emphasis on practical experience. This includes the basics of the technical structure of biogas and solar power plants as well as going on guided tours in a biogas plant, an energy forest and a photovoltaic plant. The students of both countries are encouraged to compare the corresponding concepts of their home countries from an ecological and an economic perspective. The knowledge that the students gained in the joint discourse will be summed up in a tri-lingual information brochure about renewable energies. Every form of energy production will be represented in connection with an efficient agricultural method of implementation and the evaluation from an ecological point of view. The target groups are fellow students, younger students, parents and visitors of school exhibitions, who will get comprehensible and transparent information which will vary in its technical differentiation about the chances and risks of renewable energies. The project work intends to raise awareness that even though there are many different priorities involved, it is still possible to practise environmental protection. By working on the project tasks, our students will increasingly perceive the environmental dimension in their professional and private surroundings. The students will develop options for a resource-conserving lifestyle that they will adopt by their own free will. This would imply preserving species like weeds and flowers in their own agricultural farm, for instance, and others will follow the example. By drawing on personal experiences and their acquired expertise, our students will represent a viewpoint that can prevail in the controversial discussion about agriculture and environmental protection.
The project activities planned before the corona pandemic could not be carried out in the specified order and also had to be modified due to the hygienic situation. Some products could not be created to the desired extent. Nevertheless, the necessary skills and knowledge were imparted as desired and the goals were fully achieved. In addition, environmental commitment throughout the student body has developed beyond expectations. Five large student trips were carried out, with C1 and C3 as well as C4 and C5 being linked by common participants. Part of the stay included theoretical work on the project, joint research and the joint creation of the English-language PP presentations, as well as clear information about current topics of environmental protection and modern agriculture in the respective host country. At the end of the first two projects, the presentations on the topics of “renewable energy” and “sustainable agriculture” were presented to a large audience in C3 and C5. The fifth major student trip with the project title “Sustainability” was concluded with smaller presentations in class. The seminar (C2) Renewable Energies was held with teachers from both nations and interested students from Triesdorf, who were able to record a significant increase in knowledge as a result. During the first stay of the students from Litomyšl (C3), who came almost exclusively from the field of agricultural technolgy, a seminar on renewable energies and agricultural technology was also held. The flower field was successfully created in Triesdorf and still exists. In the long term, further research into insect flight will be carried out here. Unfortunately, the corresponding sowing in Litomysl did not succeed to the desired extent depite being carried out professionally. Small portions of seeds, which were spread by colleagues in their private environment, served as a replacement. With the support of the Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, students from Triesdorf carried out a scientific study into the flight of insects on various plants in the flowering area. This study has already been carried out twice and a seminar paper on this topic has also been given. It is also planned to develop a monitoring program that will be carried out by students. The activities on species knowledge were particularly well received by the Triesdorf students. In addition to identifying insects and plants with the help of identification apps, in Litomyšl they had the opportunity to get to know a variety of exotic vertebrate species and their requirements and husbandry as part of internships. The highlight of the project in Triesdorf was the big event with the entire Triesdorf school family, the guests from Litomyšl and numerous speakers and guests of honor (C3). The half-day event with catering celebrated the 25th anniversary of the school partnership and documented the successful start of the Erasmus+ project. The speakers and thus also the Czech and German students showed how the challenges of environmental protection and productive agriculture can be overcome with modern technologies. The guests of honour, most of whom spoke in English, gave the event a framework that made the importance of cross-border cooperation for technical progress and sustainability tangible. All participants found the smaller trips, the Christmas exhibition (C6), St. Johannis’ Day (C8) and Smetana (C9) to be particularly profitable and exciting. In addition to the school activities, it was possible to personally get to know the characteristics of the host region. In addition, all of these trips also served to plan further activities and, last but not least, to intensify friendships. In addition to the trips, numerous smaller and larger activities took place both in class and as part of school activities, which show that our students reflect on their own behaviour and actively develop alternative options for action. Students organized a nutrition workshop to argue the benefits of a vegetarian diet. Participants of the seminar trip carried out intensive biotope maintenance work in the Rhön and in this context discussed the topic of species protection with the responsible experts. It was notable that many of the topics raised in the project work, such as regional food, sustainability and species protection, were taken up by the students and implemented independently or with the support of teachers.