The first motivation to participate in the project ‘‘Schools for a greener Europe‘‘ was a strong need to do something positive in the area of environmental education. Through project activities we want pupils to get to know their surroundings and to be able to live in them in a sustainable way, to learn to protect the environment and to be able to spread this gained knowledge and skills around them. In the project 5 schools will participate all from different parts of Europe. The schools are of various type and character. The schools in Portugal and Italy are both situated on islands, which means that their environment is different and provides the pupils with less opportunities than those pupils in other schools which are on the mainland. What connects a Slovakian and a Latvian school is gifted pupils who will have the chance to exchange their experiences while the teachers will have the possibility to exchange methods of working with gifted children. The schools in Italy and Portugal are also attended by pupils with special needs, among which those in Portugal with hearing disorders will especially enrich the project in terms of empathy and prosocial behaviour among other pupils. The Romanian school, which is situated in the south-east of the country close to the Danube river, and has a disadvantageous position because of the lack of work opportunities, will be able to hand on to the other schools its rich exprience with undertaking of projects. Similar experience may also be passed on to us by Portugal. Despite different focuses and types of schools, we all are connected by our interest to improve the environment. All the involved countries have a lot of natural beauty which needs protecting. Due to our differences, therefore, we have a great opportunity to learn from each other. It is important for the pupils to get to know the problems of individual countries globally, in order to gain positive as well as negative experiences from one another and to apply examples of good practice in their own countries. On the basis of the needs and knowledge of our environment we have specified the following aims of the project: 1. to educate citizens to be informed and responsible and to be active for the benefit of their communities and in the world 2. to develop knowledge, skills and a positive approach to the environment 3. to reduce the ecological footprint 4. to know the possibilities for our surroundings and to learn to live in symbiosis with nature 5. to exchange experience when working with different groups of pupils, either talented or handicapped, to know the possibilities for their inclusion, to offer more opportunities for those pupils living in distant areas (the children from islands – schools in Portugal and Sicily) 6. to exchange experience gained from good practice in the area of environmental education On the basis of these goals we have worked out a plan and decided to perform the subsequent outputs: Output – to produce: - a collection of Maths exercises focused on calculating our ecological footprint (Italy) - a collection of Chemistry exercises/tasks (making various eco-products, e.g. soap, serviettes…) (Portugal) - an Idea book – ideas for reducing our ecological footprint (Romania) - a Calendar – with photos of different activities we have done to improve our environment (Latvia) - a website, eTwinning portal -a Twin Space on E-Twinning, which will be used as a form of communication but also as a project showcase (Slovakia) - a change in school canteens – to change the school menu so that it helps to reduce our ecological footprint; to buy eco-products from verified companies (all countries) All partner schools will spread the project activities, products and results not only during its final phase but gradually in the local papers and television, on the website, via eTwinning projects; meetings in the local town halls will be held with the press present; meetings with students, parents and public will be held on a regular basis and concerned external parties will be informed about the results of the project. The final products will be online and free to access and solid products will be distributed. Each school will organize events aimed at spreading the information which was fundamental also for the project sustainability. All the partner schools will be open for cooperation, they will support other educational institutions interested in the Erasmus+ programme or project topics and they will continue taking part in international events.
The first motivation to join the "Schools for a Greener Europe" project was a strong need to do something positive in environmental education. Through project activities, we wanted the pupils to get to know their surroundings and be able to live sustainably in it, to learn to protect the environment and to be able to spread the knowledge and skills acquired in this way. Five schools from different parts of Europe participated in the project. Schools were of different types and character. Schools in Portugal and Italy were located on islands, meaning their environment was different and provided fewer opportunities for students than other mainland schools. What united Slovak and Latvian schools were gifted students who had the chance to exchange their experiences. On the other hand, teachers had the opportunity to exchange working methods with talented children. Schools in Italy and Portugal were also attended by students with special needs, among whom the project significantly enriched students in Portugal with hearing impairments in terms of empathy and prosocial behaviour among other students. The Romanian school, located in the southeast of the country near the Danube River and disadvantaged due to the lack of job opportunities, has passed on its rich experience in project implementation to other schools. A school in Portugal helped pass on similar knowledge. Despite the different orientations and types of schools, we were all united by the interest in improving the environment. All the countries involved had and have a lot of natural beauty that needs to be protected. Given our differences, we had an excellent opportunity to learn from each other. It was important for the students to get to know the problems of individual countries globally, to gain positive and negative experiences from each other and to apply examples of good practices in their countries. Based on the needs and knowledge of our environment, we specified the following project goals: 1. to educate citizens to be informed and responsible and to be active for the benefit of their communities and the world 2. to develop knowledge, skills and a positive approach to the environment 3. to reduce the ecological footprint 4. to know the possibilities for our surroundings and to learn to live in symbiosis with nature 5. to exchange experience when working with different groups of pupils, either talented or handicapped, to know the possibilities for their inclusion, to offer more opportunities for those pupils living in distant areas (the children from islands – schools in Portugal and Sicily) 6. to exchange experience gained from sound practice in the area of environmental education Based on these goals, we have worked out a plan and decided to perform the subsequent outputs: Output – to produce: - a collection of Maths exercises focused on calculating our ecological footprint (Italy) - a collection of Chemistry exercises/tasks (making various eco-products, e.g. soap, serviettes…) (Portugal) - an Idea book – ideas for reducing our ecological footprint (Romania) - a Calendar – with photos of different activities we have done to improve our environment (Latvia) - a website, eTwinning portal -a Twin Space on E-Twinning, which will be used as a form of communication but also as a project showcase (Slovakia) - a change in school canteens – to change the school menu so that it helps to reduce our ecological footprint; to buy eco-products from verified companies (all countries) We met all the goals of the project, except for the change in school canteens (not all schools had a school canteen, but they made changes, for example, in what food children bring to school) All partner schools disseminated the activities, products and results of the project not only during its final phase but gradually also in local newspapers and television, on the website and through eTwinning projects; meetings at local town halls were held with the participation of journalists; Meetings were held regularly with students, parents and the public, and external interested parties were informed about the results of the project. The final products were and are online and freely accessible. Each school organized events to disseminate information essential for the project's sustainability. All partner schools were open to cooperation and supported other educational institutions interested in the Erasmus+ program or project topics and participated, or will continue to participate, in international events.