The orchard of sustainable desires Erasmus Project

Project Title

The orchard of sustainable desires

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

“The orchard of sustainable desires”, is an Erasmus + and eTwinning project idea, which arises from: “to wish means to project the future”, “if you want so much one thing you must do everything to obtain it”, “educate today’s teenagers means assuring a better future for the adults of tomorrow”. Therefore, we think that if we “seed” well and make our students understand the importance of achieving the global aims of sustainable development (UNESCO-2030), and by desire so much, the “seeding” will give its “fruits”, such as ” desires “will become a need and will be carried out in the future.
These premises, joined with the need to disseminate the study of the Spanish language, to innovate in the teaching-learning process and to promote exchange and share good practices, have led us to the election of the participating partners and to the creation of a useful and innovative project.
The project includes 6 colleges -one Italian (eTwinning School), one Portuguese, one French and 2 Spanish-, is aimed at 12/14 years old students of the different structures, it will also participate in the school exchange 28 students per center, and it foresees:

– Virtual didactic activities, carried out on the Twinspace platform, with support from ICT
– classroom activities during the school exchange;
– concrete actions to support sustainable development.

The activities, in presence and in network, will address the following objectives of sustainable development:
-OSD n.4: Quality instruction;
-OSD n.3: Health and Well-Being
-OSD n.11: City and sustainable community;
-OSD n.14: Underwater Life;
-OSD n.15: Life on earth;
-OSD n.12: Consumption and responsible production.

The students, therefore, will have a way of knowing and reflecting on some aspects of the main environmental problems, on men’s responsibility in this aspect and their possible solutions. These themes also allow us to approach and address the issue of democratic participation, chosen by eTwinning for 2019.
Through the proposed activities, cooperation and through the school exchange, students will also have a way of knowing, assessing and getting in touch with the participants’ cultural, environmental and social heritage.
The project also aims to contribute to obtaining the OSD by means of concrete actions: the schools will seek to become “Ecoschools”, that is, they will become part of the international program certified for the schools that promote the sustainability, launched by the FEE, with the support of the European Commission.
The Spanish language is studied as a second foreign language in the Italian, French and Portuguese institutes, and has been chosen as the communication language of the project. That is, it will allow the promotion of integrated language and content learning.
In order to develop not only linguistic competences, but also cultural, digital, social and transversal, as well as promoting teaching / learning forms, the project aims to deepen the themes chosen through innovation through new technologies (ICT). Using also a digital environment of encounter, exchange and work, the “twinspace”, the students will have the place to “build” their learning, to collaborate, to organize and publish their digital works, to express opinions and make decisions. The technology will be used to facilitate the work, to produce real interactions and communications, to obtain the real objectives, to obtain didactic objectives and to motivate the students. The possibility of interacting among the members of the project, through forums, chat and audio / video, games, conferences, etc. will allow a constant collaboration.
With this new collaborative approach, which transforms into collaborative learning, it will contribute to the learning of all. Teachers will seek to constantly maintain a positive climate environment and facilitate learning, getting into discussion, learning from students and discovering ways of teaching and learning with them.
The project will also involve the students’ families, the entire community and local authority; will work with cultural and environmental associations of the different localities.
The project is in line with the indications, objectives and priorities of the Erasmus + program and in synergy with the training offer and other projects of the different structures.
The activities of the project will be shared with the different collegiate bodies of the different centers, they will be integrated in the normal scholastic activity and will be carried out during the curricular activities.
It is understood that with the realization of the project the objectives will be obtained and the results, publishing and divulging them, will have a continuity beyond the life of the project.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 164833 Eur

Project Coordinator

ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO “VITALIANO BRANCATI” & Country: IT

Project Partners

• INSTITUT VACARISSES
• IES LAS BANDERAS
• COLLEGE JACQUES MONOD
• Agrupamento de Escolas Latino Coelho, Lamego