Care for our planet with Natura 2000 and stand up against climate change! Erasmus Project

Project Title

Care for our planet with Natura 2000 and stand up against climate change!

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Natural sciences; Environment and climate change; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education

Project Summary

Our ‘COPNAT’ project was born in the context of the European Green Deal (#EUGreenDeal) presented at the end of 2019 by the new team at the head of the European Commission and of the 20th anniversary of the Natura 2000 network. The project will run for 2 years (2020-2022) with 4 partners: Belgium, Finland, Portugal, and Greece. It aims, through a scientific, cultural, geographical, environmental, socio-economic and historical approach, at raising people’s knowledge and awareness of both the issue of Climate changes and the role played by the Natura 2000 network in the fight against these climate changes. One of the aims we pursue in this project is making people aware of the importance of the maintenance and restoration of natural environments (areas) across all Europe in the reduction of human carbon footprint. Our final result in this project is the creation of an escape game on the topic of Natura2000 and its positive impact on climate changes. This educational game will consist of minimum 4 different rooms about ecosystems in each country to allow students to learn about the positive impact of the network: the Atlantic Bio-geographical Region in Portugal, the Boreal Bio-geographical Region in Finland, the Continental Bio-geographical Region in Belgium and the Mediterranean Bio-geographical Region in Greece. An internet site devoted to the project will also be created, and a photo contest will be held on the landscapes of each country. The project will involve primarily students in upper secondary school and their teachers, which in itself provides a good foundation for education and training. Through all our dissemination activities (information sessions in the partner schools, articles on websites, social media and on the eTwinning platform, the escape game being available for other schools and for public organisations…), our project will reach not only school communities but also citizens, people outside schools, for the duration of the project as well as in the long-term. Through a scientific approach, multimedia technologies, developing ICT skills, mobilities and the use of the English language as a means of communication among member schools, the partnership aims at reaching a common scientific, cultural, social and human reflection not only on the importance of fighting against climate changes, but also on the importance of the restoration, maintenance and promotion of the Natura 2000 areas . The approach adopted for this project will be learning by doing: participation in seminars with experts in the topics, roundtables, visits, field activities, workshops, cooperative work on the escape game… Students will also be asked to write and post articles about the subject areas of climate changes and Natura 2000 sites, preparatory activities, reports, evaluation, etc. on eTwinning, on social media and on the internet site dedicated to our project, to take part in videoconferences, to make videos and short films, to take photos for a photo competition. By working in joint project events during the meetings (workshops, election for the logo of the project, creation of the different rooms of the escape game …) and exchanging on eTwinning before and after the meetings, the participants will improve their skills in terms of, among others, teamwork, collaboration, social relations. All contacts and meetings will be opportunities for the participants to practice and improve their linguistic competences in English, which will increase their motivation towards language learning. Being in contact with peers from different parts of Europe throughout the project and posting articles and videos about themselves and about cultural aspects of each country, as well as visiting the partner countries during the mobility events and sharing the inhabitants’ daily lives will also broaden their cultural background and reinforce their sense of European citizenship, but also help eliminating linguistic, social and cultural barriers along with fighting against racism and intolerance. This methodology will increase the quality of the students’ education and promote the acquisition of skills and competences. Through collaborative work pupils will also develop awareness of and respect for the diversity of European cultures, and they will acquire life skills and competencies necessary for personal development and active European citizenship. The planned activities will take place from the beginning to the end of our project, i.e. before, during and after the mobility events, and will involve all participating students and teachers in the different phases: planning and organisation, mobility events, reports, evaluation …

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 123200 Eur

Project Coordinator

ITHCF gembloux & Country: BE

Project Partners

• GENIKO LYKEIO SYROU
• Grande Colégio da Póvoa de Varzim, SA
• Rovaniemen koulutuskuntayhtymä REDU