International cooperation for integration of biodiversity conservation into forest management Erasmus Project

Project Title

International cooperation for integration of biodiversity conservation into forest management

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Agriculture, forestry and fisheries; Recognition (non-formal and informal learning/credits)

Project Summary

The project International cooperation for integration of biodiversity conservation into forest management allowed students of vocational schools from Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia to prepare interesting information about their national approach to forestry and agriculture through continuous work, online meetings and presentations and visits in other participating school’s short international educational activities. Teachers of participating schools gained important experience with transnational project and many other benefits.
Forest management in Europe has traditionally focused on timber production. Recently, forest management increasingly seeks to adopt and embed conservation of biodiversity as a new management priority in commercially managed forests. Managed forests in Europe are primarily used in their phase of economic maturity considering mainly yield and market based criteria. However, it is often early and late development phases of a forest that hold a rich diversity of niches and species due to their long habitat continuity and structural diversity. Recently, several practice approaches in Europe have raised attention where forest reserves and other set aside areas together with single habitat attributes are integrated into commercially managed forests as a system of cross-linking of habitats. Students and teachers working on this project examined local forests with regard for conservation of biodiversity, used innovative IT tools including mobile training software applications. They performed virtual tree selection exercises under different scenarios and forest management strategies. The tools gave them immediate feedback of their decisions in terms of ecological and economic impacts. Students worked both in local and international teams presenting data and ideas for further development. These were also be compiled into a short publication presenting their results.

Target groups:
Teachers – improving, learning new approaches and methods in education and perfecting own competences is necessary for every teacher who wants to prepare their students for the needs of modern labour market and for a teacher who wants to keep his personal development a long term goal. This project provided great possibilities to fulfill these needs.
Students – students need to learn about education in other countries, approaches to their field of speciality in different perspective of other environments, improve their language, computer and presentation skills.

Main objectives of the project:
– sharing good practices
– language emprovement
– improving quality of vocational training
– competences with digital technologies
– teamwork skills
– intercultural dialogue
– acceptance of diversity
– labour mobility and international recognition of skills

The benefits of this project were multiple. Exchange of know how and good practices between participating organizations leading to higher quality, innovative methods in education, which are necessary as better incentives for students. This environment then works as substantial ground for more effective preparation for future transit to labour market. Foreign experience is necessary because it is very important to show both our students and teachers how their peers in different countries of European Union work, what methods they use, what is their cultural and social background. This led not only to enriching our schools with new teaching methods and approaches, but promotes intercultural dialogue and strenghtens knowledge and acceptance of diversity in society. All these factors led to better students, higher quality future employees and better citizens. Another factor which arised with this improvement is higher labour mobility which then led to necessity of international recognition of skills which we will help students obtain in the form of Europass.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 40946 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stredni lesnicka skola a Stredni odborne uciliste, Krivoklat, & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• Srednja gozdarska in lesarska sola Postojna
• Zespol Szkol w Tulowicach