Imprinting an ecological compensation reasoning on society by means of young citizens – IMPRINT+ Erasmus Project

Project Title

Imprinting an ecological compensation reasoning on society by means of young citizens – IMPRINT+

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 : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education

Project Summary

Sustainable development has been a global concern in the last decades. Younger European generations have been raised aware of global environmental issues but have not been engaged in actively contributing through stepwise local actions. European youngsters are not aware of their potential as active citizens but could be a major force of imprinting sustainability concepts in society.

The main IMPRINT+ aim was to promote an ecological reasoning based on the changing power of local community and on the participation and empowerment of young European citizens. We implemented a training methodology that conveyed the concept that each person has an ecological footprint that should be (over)compensated, if ecological, social and economic balance is to be achieved. Specifically, IMPRINT+ aimed to:
– Provide tools to help young citizens to put the concept of ‘think globally, act locally’ into practice, becoming a major changing force in their community;
– Educate about environmental sustainability, nature conservation and environmental footprints;
– Promote hands-on nature conservation activities to offset the environmental footprint;
– Raise awareness that global environmental problems also need to be addressed locally.
– Train educators on the IMPRINT+ methodology and tools;
– Promote the view, among young citizens, that the environment can be a source of green entrepreneurship, new jobs and positive contribution to a more sustainable development;

IMPRINT+ is a trans-sectorial project that brought together 6 partners from 5 countries with different experiences and perceptions:
1) University of Aveiro is a Portuguese public university with expertise in different fields of knowledge. The project team has strong background in science communication, public engagement, IT tools and sustainability.
2) Lousada is the Portuguese municipality with the youngest population, being committed with the best sustainability and education practices.
3) LeaveNoTrace is an internationally recognized Irish NGO in promoting outdoor ethics and environmental education, namely with schools.
4) IISS Cipolla-Pantaleo-Gentile (Italy) and IES Pedro Jiménez Montoya (Spain) are teaching institutions that allow the incorporation of teaching/learning experience in the educational context.
5) E.N.T.E.R. GmbH is a consortium specialized in the dissemination and promotion of the outputs of European Union granted projects.

The project’s methodology was based on state-of-the-art approaches and started with an integrative research report (IO1) that enabled the project team to consolidate already existing knowhow. During the project, six international partner meetings, three training courses and five multiplier events were hosted by partner institutions. Other main outputs of this project were: 1) a training package (IO2) for educators, designed to promote eco-friendly proactive attitudes; 2) a toolkit (IO3) for independent assessment of the environmental status of an area and the implementation of compensation measures; 3) the implementation of a pilot program (IO4) in Lousada; 4) a mobile application (IO5) and a web-based platform (IO6) all contents and tools produced by the project team or users; 5) a tutorial to help youth to engage in green entrepreneurship (IO8). Most outputs – including the dissemination package (IO7) and the final report (IO9) – were produced in the five languages of the project (PT, SP, IR, IT, GE) plus FR.

In short, IMPRINT+ offset actions included: 140 compensation actions; 20 559 native trees planted; 6 hectares of invasive plants controlled; 6 176 items of garbage recollected; 200 m2 of organic vegetable gardens, 204 wildlife shelters and 13 wildlife ponds constructed. Dissemination actions resulted in 87 presentations and 119 articles in social media. IMPRINT+ engaged: more than 18 000 people from at least 12 different countries; 1090 students, 103 teachers and 106 other organizations. Additional impact was attained through website and webapp access, with almost 16 000 and more than 5 000 views, respectively. Also, there were more than 1000 views of the training course. We expect that these figures will continue to grow because of the continuous active dissemination of the project by team members. Additionally, outputs where designed for independent use by individuals or institutions. In some cases (e.g. training course), the materials and strategies are highly customizable, which further expands the possibility for increasing impacts and benefits in the future.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 404200 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSIDADE DE AVEIRO & Country: PT

Project Partners

• MUNICIPIO DE LOUSADA
• LeaveNoTrace Ireland
• IES PEDRO JIMÉNEZ MONTOYA
• IISS Cipolla-Pantaleo-Gentile
• E.N.T.E.R. GMBH