REACT! – Respect Environment And Cherish Thyself Erasmus Project

Project Title

REACT! – Respect Environment And Cherish Thyself

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: Health and wellbeing; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

REACT! – Respect Environment and Cherish Thyself is an answer to the problems encountered and needs expressed by probably most European schools. The motivation behind it was a strong willingness to deal with poor recycling at schools, unhealthy habits and addictions of students, lack of enthusiasm towards sport, high smog levels in some towns due to burning trash as well as local problems caused by climate change, such as coastal erosion in Portugal, extinction of endemic species due to deforestation in Romania, shortages of water supply in Turkey, forest fires in Greece and pollution and eutrophication of the Baltic Sea in Poland.

There are five main areas put under scrutiny: Energy saving and reducing water pollution, Healthy habits without addictions, Separation and recycling, Sport and sustainable food, Reduction of gas emissions.
Our main target groups are learners of any age group (with the main focus on 14-18 year-olds), including adults, willing to make a difference for themselves and our planet in the number of about 300 per school (150 in Greece). Also, local authorities that are all close partners of schools, interested institutions, public and private schools, NGOs.

The objectives of the project include:
O1 – Developing key competences of students through incorporating teaching methods promoting cross-curricular cooperation, creativity and innovative learning approaches in the fields of science, social studies and physical education;
O2 – Developing social skills in the areas of teamwork, initiative, entrepreneurship, active citizenship, civic engagement through formal and non-formal learning activities by cooperating with institutions in local communities;
O3 – Bettering communication skills in international contexts with a clear focus on English;
O4 – Acquiring digital competences while developing all of the other skills and blending them with the necessary IT;
O5 – Raising awareness on the common European Union values, policy and laws in regard to environment protection and fighting climate change;
O6 – Developing long-term teaching methods and competences promoting sustainability, especially in the consumption habits; reducing carbon footprint by recycling, saving resources, energy and water;
O7 – Actively promoting healthy lifestyle by encouraging resignation from consumption of stimulants as well as by encouraging physical activity. Raising awareness about diseases like AIDS or flu.

Objectives will be realized through a set of activities, events, micro-projects and the eTwinning project with its TwinSpace: students’ presentations; films, photos, drawings, sculptures and other art pieces; poster campaigns; week long events, such as Active Citizenship Participation Week, Eco-Health Week, Plastic Caps and Waste Paper Collection; special days: Health Day, Sports Day, Earth Day, Blood or Marrow Donor Day, World AIDS Day; meetings with specialists; field trips to plant trees and to a waste treatment plant; LTTAs with their country and topic specific workshops as well as micro-projects in TwinSpace: a yearly report on ‘Smog Levels Across Europe,’ a presentation ‘Results of Climate Change Across Europe,’ a guidebook to a better life and planet, ‘REACT! – Respect Environment and Cherish Thyself – Dos and Don’ts.’

Formal and non-formal, inter and trans-disciplinary approaches to learning will be developed, together with teamwork and autonomous learning, while key competences in the areas of creativity, communication, digital, entrepreneurial, civic engagement and other social skills will be acquired or improved. Participants will also gain knowledge about sustainability of food production and consumption, healthy lifestyle as well as the European Climate Pact and other regulations and values the EU promotes. The international context that the project brings will become a motivational factor, besides improving determination and self-esteem. It is the international context that will make a real difference in perspective and mentality all participants will gain, and which will not be possible to achieve through similar activities carried out in a single school or community.

We expect to introduce some of the new formal and non-formal education activities and methods to schools’ curricula long-term, such as Health and Sports Days, Blood and Marrow Donor Days, civic engagement projects helping local community, yearly smog reports or recycled art. Schools involved will also better define their roles and positions in the local communities, will become better known and more attractive to young minds that will see their enrollment in these schools as golden opportunities for future life pathways based on the acquisition of valuable knowledge and skills, all acquired in a well-grounded and friendly manner. The achieved project results will constitute an example and encouragement factor for other schools or institutions to undertake the challenging, but rewarding task of applying in Erasmus+ programm

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 153110 Eur

Project Coordinator

I Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. Marii Sklodowskiej-Curie & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Evening High School of Aigaleo
• 15 Temmuz Sehitler Anadolu Lisesi
• Escola Secundária de Rocha Peixoto
• Colegiul National “Mircea Eliade”