NATURAL HERITAGE, KNOWING IS PRESERVING : THE BEST OPTION FOR FUTURE. Erasmus Project

Project Title

NATURAL HERITAGE, KNOWING IS PRESERVING : THE BEST OPTION FOR FUTURE.

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

The Erasmus+ Project led up by I.E.S Norba Caesarina, Cáceres ( Spain) is made up of four secondary and upper secondary European partner schools from Greece, Norway and Portugal. While the Spanish, Greek and Norwegian schools are located in urban areas, the Portuguese is situated in a rural area. Although the Norwegians have never participated in Erasmus+, they are experienced in other international projects and willing to join this European program.
The backbone of the project deals with the various ecosystems of our National Parks: their knowledge, study and preservation. We intend to raise awareness among young people of the richness of our natural heritage and the significant contribution ecosystems provide as buffers against climate change; in addition to the need of preserving them for sustainable economic growth. As a result, our main objectives are to create new learning environments, enhance conservation efforts to protect these ecosystems, encourage our young people to develop a sustainable and entrepreneurial way of thinking, evaluate the impact of waste and noise pollution in our National Parks. In other respects, our purposes are focused on the development of students key competences, especially relevant will be the acquisition and improvement of digital and foreign languages for both teachers and students.
It is obvious that we would not be able to achieve these objectives without the participation of students with different abilities, backgrounds or individual differences, promoting inclusive schools. About a hundred participants will be involved in the project, plus non-travelling students and teachers who will participate in the activities and will work in the curricula at schools. Experienced teachers from different disciplines will collaborate with those less experienced in order to train them in the required fields (science, computers, geography, foreign languages) to monitor students in their learning. On the other hand, we should not forget parents, school staff and local authorities who will have an important role to play too.
From the start of the project, a virtual collaboration has been established in the eTwinning platform with the creation of a shared project to connect participants. Transnational learning, teaching and training activities are included and will be implemented in school meetings. The activities have been designed with specific contents related to our main objectives, with an active methodology based on continuous learning, facilitating an outdoors learning environment for most of the activities (e.g measurement of waste generation, acoustic impact, assessment of Park routes through an app), and their integration in the curricula will make them available throughout the schools.
Tangible results of the project will be achieved by way of website, youtube channel, videos, photos, Erasmus+ Diary and File, infographics, digital sheets; however, the main outputs will be an App for Smart Phones to be used in Natural Parks and the measure of waste and acoustic pollution which will be compared among the four countries. To those we have to add the outcomes such as the exchanges of new ideas and good practices in a process of internationalization of our schools through a shared knowledge and cultural dialogue.
To sum up, it must be pointed out the impact that the project will have at schools and local communities as the results will be disseminated through different channels and published in various formats. Whole communities will benefit in the short and long-term by implementing new activities based on these achievements. National Parks will be able to use the new App and new measures of the waste and acoustic impacts will be implemented at our schools as well as in other natural areas in order to continue the task of raising awareness of the fight against climate change among young people.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 129280 Eur

Project Coordinator

IES Norba Caesarina & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Escola Básica dos 2.º e 3.º Ciclos do Estreito de Câmara de Lobos
• Frederik II videregående skole
• Arsakeio Gymnasium Patras