Our Erasmus+ project "The Earth, seen through our magic eyes" is an exchange of good practices for a period of two years and aims to educate students on environmental protection. 6 primary schools (pupils from 3 to 12 years old) and five countries (Romania, metropolitan and overseas France, Bulgaria, Turkey and Spain) work together so that our pupils become "European eco-citizens". We hope, through our actions, to contribute to the assurance of a healthy environment, to alert those who do not know that "man is part of nature" and that "By destroying nature, we destroy humanity! "We hope that students will have the opportunity to understand the diversity and complexity of their environment, that they will be able to see the fragile natural balance and be aware of the danger of it disturbance, that they will feel the need to appropriate behavior towards the environment. Direct contact with other European schools and the acquisition of new pedagogies through the exchange of experiences will improve the effectiveness of the educational approach. The project will start with improving the quality of education in order to prepare students to play an active role in public life. All schools in the project (students and teachers) will have the opportunity to discover other realities, acquire new knowledge and skills, which will give them more independence and self-confidence, motivating them to learn French and English. This teamwork will at the same time open up opportunities for learning the partner's national language. Through this project, we teachers want to show children the foundations of a thought and attitude focused on promoting a life-friendly environment in order to develop their spirit of responsibility to the ecosystem.The participation of all educational factors (schools, families, communities, media, etc.) in achieving these intentions, the child better understands the effects of inappropriate behavior on the environment. The project also aims to develop knowledge and awareness of protecting and improving the environment. This project offers teachers the possibility of constructive exchanges on our activities and our ideas for preserving nature. The environment provides us with the conditions necessary for life, but it is up to us to know if we want to use these essentials effectively or if we to get around this aspect of our lives. The pollution of the planet is getting worse day by day and it seems that few people have an interest in this harmful process. The protection of the planet is a global problem, and that is why every man must assume part of this responsibility. Health cannot be maintained by breathing polluted air, consuming food and water contaminated with pesticides or other chemicals. Through this project, we hope to succeed in changing the vision and mission of our students, teachers and local communities, to put the acquired experience into practice. One of the main objectives of the project is to encourage children to become active factors in protecting the environment, changing their lifestyle and that of the people around them. To achieve the main objective, this project will involve around 350 pupils aged 3 to 12, 25 nursery and elementary school teachers, representatives of local communities, parents. Because life cannot be separated from the environment, education must also be done in protecting the environment. Final products: blog, brochure, portfolios, CD, DVD, photo albums, ecological calendars, maps of each country, herbariums, mini botanical garden, exhibitions with students' creativity.
Environmental issues have become a key concern. The news confronts us daily with climate change and its impact on the planet. Educating and making our students and their families aware of environmental protection is essential. This goes beyond borders and is everyone's business. The different teams wanted to work together with partners involved in the Erasmus project in order to share, exchange and produce new teaching practices. Our goal is to put in practice in our classes actions on this theme and to raise awareness of European values. Six schools were registered in the initial project. Following the Covid health crisis, a French school withdrew and the project was extended for a year. Five establishments in primary education (Romania, France overseas, Bulgaria, Turkey and Spain) have therefore completed the project. - The DALY ERAYA school is located in La Reunion island (France) in the heart of the Etang St Paul nature reserve, a wetland of international importance. It welcomes children from 6 to 12, some of whom have a disability, and are included in the classes. It is part of a Priority Education Network. - The Gradinita cu Program Prelungit kindergarten in Baia de Fier, a village of 4,500 inhabitants in Romania, has 70 pupils from various social backgrounds in rural areas. - The Virgen de la cabeza school is located in a mountain village near Malaga in the south of Spain and educates children from 3 to 12 years old. - The "Nikola I. Vaptsarov" primary school in Varna, Bulgaria is located on the Black Sea coast. It is a large establishment with 90 teachers and 900 students aged 5 to 14, including 29 children with special educational needs. - The Darica Namik Kemal Ilkokulu school is in the suburbs of Istanbul on the Anatolian side (Asian side). The team is made up of around thirty teachers for 800 students aged 4 to 10. Each partner school set up a "European space" in their establishment in order to involve the members of the educational team and the pupils in the project "the earth through our magic eyes" and participated in the celebrations of the Erasmus days (day from Europe). Each partner presented themselves in different forms (slideshow, video, letters, etc.). Various media and actions to raise awareness of environmental issues specific to each partner environment (herbarium, calendar, clean-up day, Earth days, water days, recycling, competitions, etc.) have been produced. Videoconference exchanges took place in order to prepare mobility and coordinate the various actions undertaken in the schools. All the mobilities scheduled in the calendar were carried out during the 2021-2022 school year. The different themes covered include: air pollution (Bulgaria), preserving biodiversity in aquatic environments (France), waste recycling (Romania), nature, pollution and recycling (Turkey). The various partners were able to discover the educational systems of the participating countries and work within the schools with the teams of teachers and their students. At the same time, the partners confronted other cultures and educational systems and questioned their own practices. During the various mobility sessions, the exchanges were publicized (local and regional press, television, meeting with municipal, prefectural and academic authorities, etc.). The project has had many beneficial results for both teachers and students. It raised awareness of international environmental issues (waste management, recycling, preservation of endemic fauna and flora essential to the survival of the planet and humanity, etc.). The sense of belonging to a community took shape and everyone has realized that environmental issues were at the heart of everyone’s concerns. The students with disabilities were fully integrated into the project. The project has created a dynamic on this theme within the different schools which will renew and perpetuate certain actions... The pupils, through the project, became ambassadors for the environment in their neighborhood and within their family. The teams were able to carry out a reflective analysis of their practices and wish to develop new actions, particularly through exchanges with new European partners.