Eco Thinking For Eco Living Erasmus Project

Project Title

Eco Thinking For Eco Living

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: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Environment and climate change; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

Human-made climate change derived from the overuse of raw materials and non-renewable energy resources, is one of the major threats the world faces today.It will probably increase in floods and droughts, causing an impact on food and water supply, displacement and clashes. Being aware of this European Commission has set climate and energy package also known as 20-20-20 energy targets. To take actions towards this threat is a responsibility of the schools in this partnership as well as all European Union citizens. According to the surveys carried in 6 partner schools from different European countries, the main common weakness of the schools is the students’ negative attitudes to overuse of energy, overconsumption within households and being insensitive to the environmental issues which are due to the lack of education in ecological patterns. Moreover the students have difficulty in reading and interpreting graphs, being fluent to communicate in English and using ICT and creative problem-solving skills. The teachers need to improve their teaching competence in these matters by exchanging ideas and good practices. Having reached these results, the partner schools have come together to implement this project, “Eco Thinking For Eco Living”. Our main aim is to help the participants acquire new skills and competences and strengthen their profile. Our objectives are to equip them with scientific knowledge about environmental issues and to raise their awareness about the importance of energy saving, to increase their creative thinking skills by working in international teams and making decisions, to highlight the renewable energy resources thus to make them more responsible for common European heritage, to deepen the participant’s’ knowledge of the various ways of protecting environment in European countries, to make the participants gain digital fluency and while searching for relevant data, to enrich students’ technical and scientific vocabulary using graphs/diagrams and discussing the results, to enhance students and teacher’s English language competence by working on the environmental issues and communicating with each other, to improve pupils’ skills of creative problem solving through team work, which will be an investment for their future careers, to raise the participants’ awareness of the fact that despite cultural diversities they all have the same goal as responsible European citizens to combat climate change.
24 students who are 14-18 years old and 12 teachers are involved in the Project. There will be monthly online meetings, and 6 short term exchanges of groups of pupils, where participants work together for the exchange of good practices. 4 students and 2 accompanying teachers from each school will take place in each student exchange. They will be chosen fairly according to the selection criteria discussed about and decided by the partners.
The participants will gain creative thinking, entrepreneurial and problem solving experience and abilities by working in intercultural groups, brainstorming, face-to face discussing, designing environmentally-friendly or energy saving devices and making various objects from recyclable materials. They will visit waste-recycling and environmental plants in different European countries so that they can deepen knowledge of protecting environment. In the joint work as peer learning workshops they will improve their ICT and linguistic abilities and gain self-esteem which will be an investment for their job prospects in the future. Workshops will help them reduce their consumerist attitude. By multicultural workshops, students will learn the importance of being responsible European citizens to save our planet. By exchanging good practices the teachers will gain competencies in teaching energy saving issues not only in science lessons but also in integrated lessons. The participants will be acquainted with different cultures and traditions, which will help in fighting xenophobia and cultural prejudices. The internet website and other social media channels of the project will be free and available for all internet users during and after the project. No limitations or restrictions in the use of project results and outputs will occur. Local activities regarding the project topic will be a part of the schools’ strategic plans. Schools will organize local events, conferences, seminars, campaigns promoting the ideas of the project and disseminating the idea of energy saving afterwards. The published materials; the best practice brochure and the multilingual dictionary created within the project will be disseminated to local institutions and read by local people, that will help in raising their awareness. New partnerships will be possible among partners in the future projects. The project will bring positive attitudes towards the environment to the participant students, the young who are tomorrow’s adults and the future of the planet Earth.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 201780 Eur

Project Coordinator

Vatnsendaskoli & Country: IS

Project Partners

• I.E.S. ALHAKEN II
• GYMNASIO NEAPOLIS LASITHIOU
• Kedainiai Sviesioji Gymnasium
• ASS TOURQUENOISE DE GESTION
• GAZIANTEP ANADOLU LISESI