Plant Health: Better Plants, Better Planet Erasmus Project

Project Title

Plant Health: Better Plants, Better Planet

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: Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions; Agriculture, forestry and fisheries; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

Plant Health is a vital issue for Human beings since it directly affects human health. To raise our students as healthy EU citizens and to increase their awareness on plant health, we have searched about the studies around the World on plant health and found out that following the International law including the FAO’s International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the WTO’s Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (World Trade Organisation) EU legislation, Plant Health Directive lays down requirements that prevent the introduction of organisms harmful to plants or plant products or their spread in the EU. And, WTO focuses on that plants account for over 80% of the human diet and are indispensable for food security. Healthy plants are also vital to sustainable and profitable crop production and to the quality supply of food. Plant pests and diseases pose a threat to food security because they can damage crops, thus reducing the availability and access to food. Nowadays, due to increasing global trade and a changing climate, plant pests and diseases pose a greater threat to food security than ever before. Plant pests and diseases are responsible for losses of 20 to 40% of global food production. It is also argued that despite the aforementioned great importance of plant health, governments and society do not give it the deserved attention. To raise global awareness about plant health, the IPPC is working towards proclaiming the year 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH 2020). The promotion and proclamation process has been progressing since the emergence of the initiative at the 10th Session of the Commission for Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-10) in 2014.
Furthermore, the UN General Assembly will vote on a resolution to proclaim 2020 as the IYPH, a unique opportunity to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty and protect the environment, as well as to highlight the importance of international, regional, and national plant health organisations. Stated in the official website of IPPC, through an IYPH, the global phytosanitary community is expected to work together in protecting the world’s plants against the spread of devastating pests; encourage scientific innovation to address pest threats; promote responsible practices and increase public and private sector support for more sustainable plant health strategies and services.
To conclude, schools from GER, HR, TR, LT, SK and PT created this project to undertake the responsibility to be proactive educational institutions on plant health issue and contribute the studies on it in Europe.

Objectives
1)To contribute the students to develop their 21st century skills such as searching, critical thinking, IT and Media skills, cooperating skills
2)To promote the internalisation of our institutions and their cooperation with other institutions
3)To raise awareness of the students on plant and its products exchanging information studying on – olive (TR), tangerine (HR), corn (GER), strawberry/raspberry (SK), apple (LT), grape (PT)
4)To promote the feeling of EU citizenship and EU awareness among partners working on a EU matter “plant health”
5)To undertake the responsibility to be proactive educational institutions on plant health issue
6)To contribute the studies on plant health in Europe

Participants
24 students will take part in the LTTs, around 300 students will take part in local activities. 60 teachers will take part in the project.

Methodologies are as followings; student-centered, Inquiry-based learning, CLIL, Flipped classroom, living&experiencing, field study, observation, interviews, workshops, educational visits, discussions.

LTT Activities
From Soil to Table- grape, corn, olive, tangerine, strawberry, apple
The Benefits of modern technology in agriculture
Versatile uses of crops as food and energy
Overdose Application of Pesticide/Herbicide
Climate Change Effect on Plants
Trade of the Products
the Power of Consumers

Local Activities
“Singing/Dancing/Drawing for Plants”
An Art event will be held in the school devoted to Plants to take attraction on it.
“I’m a Nature Lover, Not a smart phone addicted”
A picnic will be organized in nature. The students will leave their smart mobile phones at home. They will have outdoor games and sports and the volunteers will make a speech about the Project.

“European Youth has a word to say!”
The students will prepare a written announcement to deliver it to the Mayor, about their ideas, wishes and suggestions on Plant Health issue.

Concrete Results
1-e-booklet “Exchanging Good Practices on European Plants From Soil to Table And Human Hands on Plants”
2-Guideline “School Health Guideline to Promote Healthy Eating”
3-a digital map
4-timelines of the Production Steps of the Local Plants
5-broshures

Longer benefit
Youth of Today, Adults of tomorrow, our students will be human resources being conscious about plant health for the next generation

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 193920 Eur

Project Coordinator

Wilhelm-Kaisen-Oberschule & Country: DE

Project Partners

• MACIDE-RAMIZ TASKINLAR SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL
• Zakladna skola
• Srednja skola Metkovic
• Agrupamento de Escolas de Alapraia
• Kauno r. Akademijos Ugnes Karvelis gimnazija