Climate change is not a choice. It is a planetary problem that humanity has to face in order to find solutions by trying to slow it down, adapt to it and live with it. Global warming and the preservation of biodiversity have a global impact but the sustainable solutions will be local. By learning about global, national and regional strategies and agendas for sustainable development, our project will encourage our students to become factors of change and develop strategies and practical solutions to deal with environmental problems and climate change in our schools and regions as parts of Europe by creating sustainable green spaces adapting to the challenges of climate change. The interdisciplinary project will link two geographically distant regions of Europe together through creative cooperation and offer an inspiring learning experience that opens up different future prospects allowing students to develop and practice many of the 21st century skills required by Europe’s future citizens. Using English as the work language and implementing eTwinning activities throughout the whole project, all involved students will work in international groups to exchange their research on the challenges of climate change in Northern and Southern Europe and present it to their partners. They will create a log book in form of a webzine, a digital herbarium, a video documentary and green spaces in their high schools. 17 students (aged 16-18) from the 11th grade in Bastia accompanied by 3 teachers (2 Natural Sciences and 1 English teacher) will travel to Vaasa in the region of Ostrobothnia to learn about the specific traits of the Scandinavian climate through guided tours to the Kvarken Natural Heritage site and identify the challenges this region faces because of climate change. As part of the Energy Vaasa programme for schools, visits to various local institutions and enterprises involved in environmentally friendly energy solutions will be organized in January 2021. 17 students (also aged 16-18) from the second year in Vaasa, accompanied by 3 teachers from their home school (1 Biology and 2 English teachers) will discover the challenges of climate change in Corsica - a hotspot of climate change and biodiversity. They will participate in various workshops in order to research on plant species particularly exposed to global warming via a guided hiking-tour at the Lodu beach, the visit of the Parc Galéa, a tour of the botanical Gardens of Bastia and a visit of the scientific research platform Stella Mare (South of Bastia) in cooperation with the University of Corte in May 2021. The expected tangible results of the project are a logbook in form of a webzine, a digital and multilingual herbarium, a video documentary, a botanical green space in our high schools and an evaluation report. The expected intangible results are the improvement and reinforcement of English language skills of each student, 21st century skills, multicultural and international teamwork competencies. The participation in this project will contribute to the development of the involved schools in the long-term by achieving awareness of global climate change within the school communities and implement local and sustainable initiatives to adapt to it. It will improve the immediate environment of the educational community on campus by empowering all members, students, teachers, technical agents, the administration, etc. to maintain the created green spaces. It will thus give an example to other schools and institutions in our regions but also beyond our geographical borders. Furthermore the acclimatization (botanical) gardens will cross ages and represent transgenerational natural and cultural heritage adapting to climate change as the plants will grow and reproduce. Future generations of school members will therefore benefit from the newly created environment that will develop sustainably over the years and demand steady involvement of the school communities. As a result our high schools will thus implement a green policy campus with green spaces as well as an awareness for renewable energies, recycling and environmentally friendly strategies for all activities and sustainability in regard to the challenges of climate change !
Climate change is not a choice. It is a planetary problem that humanity has to face in order to find solutions by trying to slow it down, adapt to it and live with it. Global warming and the preservation of biodiversity have a global impact but the sustainable solutions will have to be local. The Erasmus+ project “Think global - act local. Creating green spaces in our schools adapting to climate change” was a KA229 school exchange project between two high-schools: the Lycée Paul Vincensini in Bastia, Corsica, France and the Vasa Gymnasium in Vaasa, Finlande. 17 Corsican and 17 Finnish students as well as 3 teachers from each school participated in this English speaking project which lasted 21 months and included two mobilities, one in each country. Over one and a half years the Corsican and Finnish students worked in international groups to research on the challenges of climate change in Northern and Southern Europe using the English language as the team language and implementing eTwinning activities throughout most of the project. Weekly activities were integrated in Erasmus+ workshops in our school schedules and the interdisciplinary international teamwork linked our two geographically distant European regions through creative collaboration and offered an inspiring learning experience encouraging all students to become factors of change and develop practical solutions to deal with environmental problems and climate change. The two mobilities allowed all partners to deepen their knowledge on the biology, geology as well as the flora of the local environment studying endemic plants, understanding geographical as well as cultural specificities. As planned, the students created green spaces in both high schools, planting plants adapting or resistant to climate change. They also created a digital herbarium, a log book in the form of a webzine and 3 video documentaries. The dissemination of the whole project was ensured by numerous partner networks of both high-schools via websites, social media, the radio, TV and the press. In conclusion, the Erasmus+ project “Think global - act local” was a successful collaboration between Corsica and Finland despite difficulties linked to the global pandemic and the geopolitical situation in Ukraine. The quantitative and qualitative evaluations carried out at the end with the learners showed a 100% satisfaction rate of the project itself and most of the activities. The best outcome however is the friendship gained by all of us leading to future official European but also informal social projects between the participants!