Let`s science our envirnonment Erasmus Project

Project Title

Let`s science our envirnonment

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: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

Environmental issues, above all the topic of climate change, have an increasingly great impact on political and social developments and decisions. Students are more and more affected by them, also in their everyday life. However, living in the information age it has become more difficult at the same time to differentiate between facts, “alternative facts” and fake news. The more complex a topic is, the more people tend to participate in populist discourses. We believe that for the younger generation, a cooperation on an international level is the best chance to secure a sustainable livlihood. That is why we regard it as indispensable to teach the students skills and competences which enable them to understand, analyse and possibly contribute to a solution of these problems also on an international scale. This includes providing them with solid knowlegde about the topic, choosing a scientific apporach to deal with ecological questions, reflecting with the students the consequences and scope of the individual acting and enabling them to thoroughly take part in an international discourse. Within the normal classes and curriculum it is impossible to develop the skills mentioned above, at least in an intensive way. Apart from that the required framework to work in an international and interdisciplinary way are not given in the regular classes.
Our aim is to train “climate embassadors”, i.e. multipliers, who diseminate the knowlegde aquired during this project and make students and teachers aware of environmentally related topics. It is the students who can best initiate sustainable processes in the schools and their environment and raise awareness. Thus, the guiding questions of this projects are: To what extent are our climate and the environment influenced by us? What are the consequences? What possibilities do we have to influence these processes in a positive way? How do we find followers? Who are reliable role models in the past and present? What can we learn from them?
Firstly, the students will collect empirical data from their schools and local environment related to the ecological footprint and will identity problems. In the following they are supposed to recognize and deal with questions like the impact their individual acting has on the environment on a local and global scale and in what time ecological developments proceed. Moreover, they are supposed to deal with the role civil groups have on decisions and developments and what they can do to change things. Different forms of activism like civil disobedience and current and historical examples will play a role here. The students will deal with the question like who becomes a popular voice, if we can trust them and if they are reliable. Examples of those voices can be Alexander von Humboldt, Greta Thunberg, Sebatiao Salgado or politicians like Donald Trump. In this context they will also reflect on various forms of how to convey messages and publish information expecially to the younger generation. The final product is an app to measure the ecological footprint and enable students to take measures and influence our climate in a positive way. A competetition might serve as an incentive to get the app started.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 164530 Eur

Project Coordinator

Erzbischöfliche Marienschule Opladen & Country: DE

Project Partners

• INSTITUT FRANCISCO DE GOYA
• Escola Secundária Afonso Lopes Vieira
• Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls
• Ordrup Gymnasium