Plants and Play Producing Universal Skills Erasmus Project

Project Title

Plants and Play Producing Universal Skills

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 : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

PAPPUS – ‘fine feathery hairs surrounding the fruit in plants, e.g. dandelion; aids dispersal of the fruits by the wind’.

Like its namesake, the ‘PAPPUS’ project will disperse seeds of change in the lives of young people, using the natural world, botany and horticulture, in a playful context, to engage young people in outdoor activities that develop their skills, competencies and unlock their understanding of potential future career paths. Statistics indicate declining numbers of young people engaging with nature over the past 4 years, yet the benefits cannot be disputed. Contact with nature has been proven to improve concentration and has restorative effects. Even a short break from studies in a green area can have positive stress reduction effects and can promote greater engagement in learning; with the potential to reduce early school leaving, which is a recognised problem across Europe, and significantly impacts a young person’s life chances. Statistics from Eurostat 2017 show one in ten young people in the EU have not completed a lower secondary education. Hence, this project aims at targeting young people with fewer opportunities and those at risk of leaving school early.

Key deliverables include:
– Understanding country perspectives through National Adaptation Planning
– Developing toolkits, a training course, training the trainers, and delivering pilots
– Producing articles, workshops and dissemination of findings to policy makers and influencers
– The project aims to reach 28 people from partner organisations and their Advisory Committee
– Direct contact with 50 people per country; approximately 300 people, across Multiplier Events
– Train 30 learners through Training Activities
– Number of schools involved through multiplier and other activities: approximately 30; number of children per schools: circa 120; altogether approximately 3,600 pupils.

Partners will work with secondary schools and youth and will organise a study visit to the UK to explore the topic of engagement with nature, using plants and play. Time spent undertaking desk research and interviews with stakeholders will provide valuable evidence from a number of angles, which will add to learning gained on the study visit. This will enable each country to discover what engages the attention and interest of young people, and what support teachers and play/ youth workers need to use the natural world as an environment for their activities. Results will be produced in a National Adaptation Plan (NAP).

The second stage of the project will produce a stand-alone Toolkit of ideas, and through this development work, partners will test out the playful innovative toolkit, with teachers, youth workers and young people. Advisory Committees will be key in terms of informing the content, as will feedback from the External Evaluator who has expertise in this area. Young people and schools will be approached to feedback on the draft Toolkit. Once finalised, there will be an event in each country to promote and disseminate the Toolkit effectively. This free product will enable many more people outside of the project to benefit from the work.

The project will finally undertake the development of an online PAPPUS training curriculum and learning materials, using plants as a focus for playful interactions and potentially the development of entrepreneurial skills. As part of the work, there will be an event to train teachers and youth workers in the use of the tools with young people, through the development of a training course for teachers/ youth workers. Once the training is completed, partners will pilot the course with schools/ youth settings in their own countries before working towards finalising the course and having it accredited. National workshops have been planned towards the end of the project, to include wider promotion to enhance use of nature, plants and play, and to work with young people to tackle social exclusion, and signpost to potential career paths.

In addition, as a result of the project, partners will be empowered to work with their local community around this topic, having trained trainers whom they can work with beyond the project. Young people will directly benefit from the project through the piloting work that is undertaken by the partners. The Toolkit and course provide an opportunity for schools or youth settings to better work towards their educational mission and become closer to the local community. In those schools and youth settings where the Toolkit and training is used, young people will have more access to physically active, creative, fulfilling, playful outdoor learning opportunities, and engaging with nature, which fights obesity, stress-related sickness, enhances motivation and peer-relations; and therefore combats failure in education. Through effective dissemination, the aim is to in the longer-term, influence the policy-makers and leave a lasting legacy beyond the project.

Project Website

http://www.pappusproject.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 418087 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE & Country: UK

Project Partners

• UNIVERZITA PALACKEHO V OLOMOUCI
• TANDEM n.o.
• Gedania 1922 Association
• Rogers Személyközpontú Oktatásért Alapítvány
• Gesellschaft für Sozialforschung und Bildung (GeSoB) – Society for social research and education
• Play Learning LIfe