UPCYCLING – A PROJECT FROM BOTTOM TO TOP Erasmus Project

Project Title

UPCYCLING – A PROJECT FROM BOTTOM TO TOP

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: Environment and climate change; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

The ideas for this project were developed by a group of teachers connected by a common concern about environmental issues, particularly, about pollution. These teachers have previously collaborated through the eTwinning platform in the project: Waking up to Environmental Destruction, where we did some research which showed that students do not focus on reducing and reusing various materials to a satisfactory level. We evaluated the results and came to the conclusion that the curricula of our schools do not pay enough attention to recycling education or to motivating students toward sustainable living. We concluded that it is worth to encourage students not only to recycle but also to upcycle – using waste materials to create new items of higher value. Additionally, upcycling will help us increase students’ creativity, which is not developed in a satisfactory level within the framework of our curricula and is part of some important key competences, which should be enhanced in our schools. Upcycling provides a creative approach towards recycling. To lead our efforts to results, we would like to create lesson plans which will include ideas created by our project team. Those lesson plans will be permanently included in the curricula of our schools.

The objectives of our project are:
-Conveying the knowledge about the properties of different materials (glass, plastic, paper, metal, fabrics) and their recycling potential to students.
-Motivating students to do recycling and upcycling.
-Introducing lessons about the properties of different materials and their recycling potential as well as lessons concerning upcycling issues into the framework of obligatory classes of technology, design, art and science.
-Amplifying students’ creativity.

We would like to produce results such as:
-Increase of students’ knowledge about the properties of various materials and their recycling and upcycling potential, higher level of students’ motivation towards recycling and upcycling and higher level of their creativity.
-Development of 6 lesson plans based on recycling materials for the subjects of technology and design, science, music and 12 lesson outlines with ideas from various subjects for the art classes.
-Upcycling workshops during each mobility and as a local activity, creation of musical instruments, shopping bags, masks against coronavirus, sculptures, copies of well known works of art, flower pots, table decorations, participants’ portraits, decorative bottles, recycling bins, bird feeders, planters in a vertical garden, a chandelier, decorative mosaics from plastic caps and other products suggested by students.
-Creation of an Upcycling Club and a recycling storage area with bins for recycling materials at each school.
-Production of a leaflet ‘Think green. Use less paper’, a lapbook ‘Less waste during shopping’, a comic book about waste, a poster ‘Let’s recycle better’, an interactive poster ‘Upcycling fabrics – the trendiest fashion’ and an e-photo album with pictures of beautiful natural sites visited during
mobilities.
-Exhibition of materials and works created by students during the project.

The main beneficiaries of the project are students from 12 to 16. About 25 students in each school will be partakers involved in all project activities. The indirect participants of the project include students attending the obligatory classes, where the teachers will have lessons using the materials and objects produced in the project. We assume there will be at least 4 groups of students in each partner school (depending on the school’s character). The whole school community can attend the exhibition of project products (3300 people in the whole partnership). Each school will have a team of teachers who will collaborate directly in the project. There will also be teachers who will participate in some aspects of the project or provide extra support. Parents and families of core students who are directly involved in the project (about 25 families per school), will inevitably be exposed to our upcycling ideas and will also be involved in hosting foreign students from partner schools during international visits. Last but not least, the local authorities will be present at the meeting organised during the mobilities and will be invited to the final exhibition.

Each mobility will be devoted to a different recycling material, it will be also combined with our project tasks on eTwinning. We will prefer students – centered approach (cooperative learning). Students will work in small groups, both during debates and upcycling workshops.
Lesson plans will be based on the method of multidisciplinary teaching. Digital technologies will be applied as well. The project will provide a European dimension to our schools and will enable to exchange good practices and expand the horizons of the students and teachers.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 190564 Eur

Project Coordinator

Szkola Podstawowa Nr 1 w Bieruniu & Country: PL

Project Partners

• IES de Catabois
• 24 DIMOTIKO SCHOLIO THESSALONIKIS
• Agrupamento de Escolas de Pedome
• Osnovna skola Dobrise Cesarica
• Aksu Sehit Hakan Gemici Ortaokulu