Reforestation of arid zones in the south of Europe as a profession of the future Erasmus Project

Project Title

Reforestation of arid zones in the south of Europe as a profession of the future

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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development)

Project Summary

The VALGREEN project was born at the beginning of 2016, of the willingness and concern of different professors to continue training future professionals who will deal with the sustainable management of the Environment, especially in areas where global warming (and its manifestations such as desertification) is a problem and a real environmental risk, as is the case in southern Europe. The objectives that have been tried with the present project have been:

1. Contribute to improve vocational training and focus it towards the management of desertification in the arid zones of southern Europe.
2.Propose to the educational centers involved as referents at the regional level in the management and reproduction of native plants and the reforestation of arid zones.
3. Improve teachers ‘skills and achieve a higher level of excellence in teachers’ professional, linguistic and personal competences.
4. Gradually introduce, in the first cycle of secondary education, the learning methodology for projects based on this environmental problem.
5. To obtain the linguistic competences in English of the professors, through specific actions of the European PORTFOLIO.
6. Become familiar with the use of ICT in the areas of information creation and communication with the rest of the members of the Association.
7. Promote an adaptation of vocational training to the new European currents related to the green economy, the efficiency in the management of natural resources and the adaptation and mitigation of Climate Change.
8. Improve the curricula of professional training by integrating improvements focused on greater employability and self-employment of students.

Based on these objectives, the project has tried to improve the skills and key competences of teachers from different educational institutions in southern Europe:

– IES Fray Ignacio Barrachina (Ibi- Spain), secondary school and high school with a basic professional training module focused on forest management and focused on students at risk of social exclusion.
– Epralima (Alto Lima – Portugal), professional school with experience in teaching related to the professional world and entrepreneurship, and also in education related to environmental management.
– Istituto Comprensivo Bartolomeo Lorenzi Fumane (Verona – Italy), is an educational center that is part of an Italian network of educational centers that has extensive experience in international projects and focused on educational innovation. From his point of view, this istituto worked for the introduction of the values ​​of the professional formation and the management of the environment, from the levels of secondary education.
 
The project has been based on an exchange of good practices and experiences among the four entities, through study visits, short-term training and the exchange of information and ideas through social networks or the Internet. In this sense, four study visits and meetings have been carried out. One in each of the territories of the project partners, where two representatives of each entity have participated for at least two days. On the other hand, two short courses have been organized, one in Cyprus and the other in Portugal, which have served to deepen the field of the environment and in the field of professional and entrepreneurial vocation of vocational training. The methodology that has prevailed in the project has been “learning by doing” through it, the activities implemented, study visits, workshops, etc. They have had a remarkable practical component.

In addition all the activities of the project have counted from the beginning with the cooperative participation of all the partners, which has demonstrated the will and the commitment to share efforts and learn from each other. On the other hand, we must also consider the activities of management, communication and dissemination that have been coordinated from Spain, but that have also had the active contribution of the rest of the project partners. This collaboration has been key to control the evolution of the project, as well as for the collection of results and disseminate them adequately.

In addition, activities and events have been organized at the local / regional level, together with dissemination activities on social networks, web pages, local newspapers, etc. they have served to disseminate the project, having indirectly involved more than 1,000 people from all over Europe. In this sense, the great impact of the platforms and informative tools of some of the partners, such as the Istituto Comprensivo Bartolomeo Lorenzi Fumane and its network “Polo Europeo della Connoscenza” or having institutional support, has been of great help of entities.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 66095 Eur

Project Coordinator

FRAY IGNACIO BARRACHINA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• MESOKELEAS LTD
• EPRALIMA – ESCOLA PROFISSIONAL DOALTO LIMA – COOPERATIVA DE INTERESSE PUBLICO E RESPONSABILIDADE LIMITADA
• Istituto Comprensivo Bartolomeo Lorenzi Fumane