Love it! Know it! Protect it! – In the spirit of the Green Kindergardens (HEART) Erasmus Project

Project Title

Love it! Know it! Protect it! – In the spirit of the Green Kindergardens (HEART)

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: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Health and wellbeing; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

We are planning to implement our project with the participation of two institutions operating in Romania (Satu Mare) and (Aiud) and two in Hungary (Gyomaendrőd and Debrecen). Our common goals have been defined in a detailed and structured way, based on the real needs of the institutions and their developmental needs: developing broader cooperation, exchanging of experience, knowledge sharing, learning from each other. In addition, the young generation should develop a caring, curious, respectful attitude towards the environment, and develop a greater sense of responsibility towards their narrower and wider community. As our prospective partner institutions already have a strong commitment to environmental education and continuous improvement, we have created a common motto: Love it! Know it! Protect it!
We intend to deliver constructive and well-integrated professional content on a long-term basis as a result of the project, with effective implementation of sustainability pedagogy in all its aspects, which is the most pressing challenge of the 21st century. The main direction of our exchange of experiences is integrating education in free play, and how learning activities and which tools can be used to influence our environmental behavior. Of course, we do not take this out of the educational context, but it is done in a complex way, by including our responsibilities we have with our institutional partners. (parents, children, staff, institutional direct partners).
The 4 partner institutions carry out different activities under similar environmental conditions, their strengths are similar and different at the same time / close collaboration with family, recognitions for green activities of the nurseries: Bird-Friendly Nursery, Green Nursery, Forever Green Nursery, and Green Flag titles. The proximity to the border will benefit us in the fulfillment of our further goals, in establishing and building a lasting relationship with the Hungarian nurseries within the Carpathian Basin outside the Hungarian borders. All 4 institutions provide children with diverse experience in the field of environmental education and environmental protection. We share our practices so that we can carry out our activities to an even higher standard by incorporating innovative elements. Our goals include preserving and protecting the natural and social values around us, and sensitizing children to the global challenges of their narrower and wider environment, appropriate to their age. We consider it important to strengthen the development of key competences and to support learning. The triple relationship of children`s knowledge, attitude and behavior, also includes gaining enjoyable experience, supporting the development of emotional intelligence and empathy, highlighting the role of family background, and developing parenting attitudes. We consider the development of pedagogical competences equally important, by which the teachers’ community contributes to the preservation and enhancement of the values of the local social and natural environment. They apply the principles of education for sustainability in a complex and consistent way and raise awareness of the importance of personal responsibility. We are taking the lead in putting sustainability education into practice. So far, we have implemented international collaboration mainly on the online scene, but now we are making the virtual collaboration more colorful and effective through mobility, school observations, joint professional days, lectures and joint training. Collaboration on eTwinning will continue to be part of our project. In order to achieve our goals, we have already created online spaces for joint planning: closed facebook group, email, video call.
There is a strong correlation between environmental awareness, environmentally conscious attitude and environmentally conscious behavior, therefore our goal is to develop appropriate attitudes and behaviors for the environmental education. The development of emotional intelligence is an essential factor, and the tools of literary and artistic education are also actively involved in the complex personality development, which support the actual incorporation of behavioral patterns. Our planned results in the course of our mutual cooperation are a complex collection of activities in environmental education, nurturing emotional intelligence, development of teachers’ competences through further training, professional exchange, knowledge sharing. Our expected results are an effective collaboration with parents and creating their attitudes. Developing international institutional partnerships, developing key childhood competences through getting enjoyable experiences. Incorporating innovations designed to ensure sustainable development into the nursery Pedagogy program, as well as achieving high level of emotional intelligence and environmental education, are serving the short-term goals and deliver long-term outcomes.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 47550 Eur

Project Coordinator

Mesekert Óvoda & Country: HU

Project Partners

• Gradinita cu Program Prelungit Primii Pasi Aiud
• Liceul Reformat
• Gyomaendrőd-Csárdaszállás -Hunya Kistérségi Óvoda