Primarily, we wanted our students to learn about the effects of climate change on our three different seas. We wanted to introduce our students to different ways of life and different cultures that live closely connected to the sea. We wanted to include three different cultures and expand the "DreamTeam". We wanted the students to learn about scientific protocols and about research being made on different aspects of the seas in our different countries. We wanted to make our students aware of both challenges and blessings of living by the seas that our countries represented; the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. We wanted to include both academic work and something practical, hands-on. We wanted to give the student a chance to experience sea-related activities that are typical for our different cultures. We wanted to learn about the three different seas in order to be able to teach our colleagues and other students about the differences and likenesses. We also wanted to acquaint ourselves with the Azorean and the Corsican cultures.
We applied for this project because we wanted to continue our cooperation with the Corsican team. We work well together and have the same ambitions and work ethics. We had a very successful first collaboration on plants and the challenges of climate change and thus it felt natural to continue on the same theme but focusing on another area that we have in common : the seas. In addition, we both wished to include a third partner and were lucky enough to find one in the Azores, which enabled us to include a third body of water: the Atlantic. All three cultures living by and off the seas have certain things in common, but there are also differences, because the seas are so very different - the climate poses certain challenges in itself, but we are all coping with climate change in different ways. Learning about the different types of problems that our three seas are facing seemed to be a concrete and very interesting way to learn and expand our students' understanding of the problems that our seas are facing due to climate change, but also to broaden their perspective both when it comes to learning about environmental issues and about how our cultures have learned to live with and by the sea and benefit from what it can give us.