Futur€nvironment Erasmus Project

Project Title

Futur€nvironment

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: Energy and resources; Environment and climate change; Pedagogy and didactics

Project Summary

The environment, sustainability, global warming, biodiversity – these are topics which engage young people across the world; yet while many are ‘talking the talk’, they are not all ‘walking the walk’. This project aims to capture the interest of our students in the natural world and the environment and help them to make changes that will ensure the sustainable future that they are campaigning for.
Although young people are worried about the future of our planet, many are not making the small changes in their lives that would help to safeguard the planet. Food waste, conspicuous consumption and reluctant recyclers are present in our schools in Belgium, France, Germany, Northern Macedonia, Slovenia and Scotland (UK). This project will encourage the small steps which can be taken by everyone for the good of all.
The embedding of the United Nations Sustainable Goals for Development in our school curricula provides a direct link between this project and the current evolution of each school’s syllabus. 2020 is International Year of Plant Health and this is followed in 2021 by the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development and the European Year of Rail. These Years give an extra focus for the work that we will do together. The JunkKouture activity and the mobility to Slovenia have creativity and sustainability at their heart. Participants that can travel to mobilities by Rail will do so to reduce the carbon footprint of their journeys and the evidence of this will be produced in our Carbon Footprint activity.
Participants come from six countries with a wide geographical spread and context yet all face similar challenges with regards to the future of the environment. The activities in this project will emphasise what we all have in common and celebrate the diversity that each locality offers. The participants will have the opportunity to explore urban, rural, coastal and mountain environments while on mobilities and will exchange ideas, materials and information throughout the two-year project in the virtual world. In each school there will be a core group of pupils and staff who will drive the project forward. This may be through Erasmus clubs or Erasmus classes. Wherever possible, activities will be embedded in classwork to allow a maximum number of pupils to participate actively in the project. We expect over 1500 young people to be exposed to the Erasmus experience and that this will include the full age range represented in our partnership (3-18 years). The project will be fully inclusive and activities will be adapted to be accessible to those with educational, health, emotional and social needs. Our group has partner schools in Kenya and India. We have invited them to join us as ‘guest’ members. This provides an insight for our learners into sustainability as understood and practised on two other continents. It is also a gives us a natural platform for the dissemination of materials and for the sharing of good practice more widely.
The activities include seven ongoing projects which will involve a large number of participants in each school, four pupil mobilities and two Joint Staff Training events. The first activity will be a logo competition to make an impact at the start of the project. Together, the ongoing activities and mobilities complement each other. Fundamental Scientific Principles involved in Environmental Issues and Carbon Footprint will develop STEM capabilities. JunkKouture, Upcycling and Recycling and 5Rs will encourage creative solutions to waste problems, Forest to Forest and Land and Sea will examine natural resources and sustainability; Green up your Life and Mobility and Housing will look at sustainability in an urban context. The Joint Staff Training events are essential for upskilling the staff delivering the project. They will have the opportunity to share knowledge and expertise and to develop their understanding of the science underpinning sustainability.
Project results will include a change in behaviour and an improved understanding of how one’s choices affect the environment and future sustainability. We hope to prove that less can be more. There will be a project website and TwinSpace. Participants will produce story books, art work, science experiments, mathematical models, a recipe book, lesson plans. The wider impact of this project will include improved linguistic competence, better ICT skills and digital literacy, enhanced critical thinking skills and a clear understanding of what it means to be both a European and a global citizen. The long term impact of the project should be sustainable: our living with a lighter touch.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 197975 Eur

Project Coordinator

Mallinckrodt-Gymnasium & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Sredno uciliste na Grad Skopje Georgi Dimitrov
• Sint-Jozefscollege
• Wellington School (Ayr) Ltd
• OGEC SAINT DOMINIQUE
• Zavod sv. Stanislava