Aquatic Environment and Cultural&Natural Heritage Erasmus Project

Project Title

Aquatic Environment and Cultural&Natural Heritage

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: Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Natural sciences

Project Summary

The project ‘Aquatic Environment and Cultural&Natural Heritage’ is aimed at promoting awareness of the close relationship between the environment and the development of society: its culture, its traditions, its economy. In particular the project considers different kinds of aquatic environments in Europe to make the participants aware of the diversity, wealth and fragility of various natural environments and of their importance for the richness of European natural and cultural heritage. Thanks to the project the participants will discover the common roots of the European civilization and also the importance of the human action and of an environmentally conscious attitude for the safeguard of the natural and cultural heritage.
They will also become aware of the role of EU since ‘EU water policy focuses on protecting water resources, achieve good ecological status and enable sustainable use’ ( Eurostat) and ‘Water is essential for life and an indispensable resource for the economy. It is permanently renewed but it is also finite and cannot be made or replaced with other resources’. So far ‘EU water policy has successfully contributed to water protection…Europeans can safely drink tap water and swim in thousands of coastal areas, rivers and lakes’ but ‘Major additional action is needed to preserve and improve EU waters’ (2012 EU communication A Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources).
The acquired knowledge of the European heritage will be for pupils and all the participants a step towards European identity and understanding how the collaboration among the different Nations gives great opportunities of economic development and prosperity and increases the likelihood of peace, which cannot be taken for granted.
The objectives of the project are:
– to develop an awareness of the European cultural and natural heritage
– to highlight the importance of water environment for human health, economy, and culture
– to increase the awareness of an environmentally conscious attitude and of the importance of the active citizenship for the safeguard of the environment
– to enhance the use of new didactic methodological approaches, mainly project based learning, both in archive researches, outdoor activities, and in the discovery of local cultural and natural heritage.
– to improve students language, digital and communication skills and to develop their social and high order competences, such as critical thinking and creativity
Four secondary high schools, students aged 14-18, from Italy, Greece, Romania and Spain will join to collaborate on this project.
144 students and 32 teachers will be involved in the mobility, taking part in the educational activity abroad, but the participation to the project will be wider, almost all students and teachers will participate in the project through workshops/seminaries. Furthermore, the families of the students and the communities of each country will take part and will collaborate to the success of the project and to spread the results.
The activities planned involve
– a transnational kickoff meeting, in Italy. The teachers will learn about the basic ITC tools, social media and eTwinning platform and the skills needed to successfully manage the project
– four short term learning teaching activities: first year in Romania (natural and cultural heritage of the Danube Delta) and Spain (traditions and tourist/economic opportunities from the Esca river in Navarra, sports activities), second year in Greece (natural heritage of the Pinios river, from the Templi Valley to the Delta, and the coastal region of the Thermaikos sea and the Aegean sea, the myth and the cultural heritage) and Italy (the network of the Navigli artificial canals and the contribution of Leonardo Da Vinci, their impact on economy, art and the natural environment)
– an eTwinning project: students will communicate, plan and share the results of their research thanks to this platform. At the end of the project an event will be created to disseminate the results
– Natural/Cultural excursions, events, visits to museum, seminars
– Students will write some papers about their research through the school journals.
We expect to reach the objectives through the project activities. Furthermore, we expect to enhance the students’ knowledge through all the explored fields, history, art, literature, sports activities, science and physics, and that they better understand the relations between the different fields area of similar subjects, thanks to a multidisciplinary approach. Students will also develop an appreciation of the European cultural diversity and respect of different traditions and culture. Teachers will also improve their mastering of the vehicular language and will develop their professional competence.
The dissemination initiatives aim to develop an awareness of the natural and cultural European heritage and the need for its safeguard through an active citizenship at local and transnational level.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 99839 Eur

Project Coordinator

Istituto di Istruzione Superiore Niccolò Machiavelli & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Colegiul Dobrogean “Spiru Haret”
• Lykeio Gonnon