Project implementation was to be a turning point for our little school and our community in terms of raising environmental awareness and grasping what sustainability is and what it means to be, as much as possible, sustainable. We wanted to set an example for our students so that they can do the same in their homes and surroundings. Doing all of the activities together with students, organizing and problem solving, workshops and education classes, has taken the relationship with students to a higher level, the one where we are partners who shared the same passion for environmental protection. Consequently, enthusiasm was transmitted to regular classes making the communication and overall atmosphere simply better.
The context of our project emerged from the need to educate our students and people working in our organization, in terms of sustainability and ecological awareness. By carefully observing the behavior of young people it has been noticed that they pay no attention, or very little, to the environment. Therefore certain steps needed to be taken to change the course of events. Conducting ecological footprint among students has confirmed that knowledge, awareness and doing practical work on the environment protection have to be implemented into our curriculum. The need to recycle paper occurred, to collect plastic bottles and divide caps from it, to introduce compost containers in the kitchen to make our own fertilizer for our olive trees in our school yard, to plant other trees and bushes, to teach about the importance of rational energy and water consumption to reduce expenses, etc. Within that context, the project has helped our organization to set in motion changes that have now become our habits.