Water for Life: Sustainable use of a vital resource Erasmus Project

Project Title

Water for Life: Sustainable use of a vital resource

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; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Clean and accessible water is the precondition for life and almost all human activities. Water will most certainly be one of the most contested resources in the world. At the same time, we are witnessing a young generation that cares about our planet and takes to the streets to demand action against climate change.
Water plays a major role in all our partner schools’ regions by some means or other: Either it is a plentiful resource in northern and central Europe where it sustains life in manifold still healthy aquatic ecosystems and can easily be used for various purposes. On the other hand, all partner schools’ areas face distinctively different problems concerning water quality and quantity: water shortage and contamination, dryland salinity, floods and flood control…
Therefore, this project will motivate participants not only to examine their own (often wasteful) use of water but also to discuss the differences and similarities in the regional water-related issues. Doing so, the students will learn how to handle water resources sustainably and responsibly.

In each country, 20 students will directly participate in the project. In small autonomous groups and on a weekly basis, the they will investigate the scientific, ecological, economic and cultural aspects of water to eventually raise their overall environmental awareness to develop alternative courses of action. Teachers experienced in the different areas relevant for our project will offer help whenever necessary; more professional help, support and workshops will be offered by our associated partners, e.g. the WANDER Nordic Water and Materials Institute in Finland, the spa administration in Italy, the Rhein-Waal University Kleve in Germany or the Mediterranean Centre of Environment in Greece.

In the project periods in each country, students will be tasked with researching, processing and presenting the information on the various subtopics, independently and interdisciplinarily, and subsequently share it with their international partners. Fieldtrips to e.g. museums, teaching institutions and business companies as well as workshops will be carried out in the phases between international visits. On the visits, students will have to cooperate with their European partners in small international groups, leading to a gradual enhancement of the student’s mutual cultural appreciation and understanding. Since English will be the project’s language, this will further not only their intercultural, but also the students’ communication skills. Most of the time electronic means will have to be employed for research, presentation and communication, the latter especially through e-mail and TwinSpace. In addition to these basic digital skills, the digital editing of photo and video material, the creation of interactive digital posters as well as the innovative use of QR codes on print posters (media design) for educational purposes will improve the ICT competences of the students. Critical thinking, creativity, language skills, digital competence, tolerance, ecological consciousness, awareness of the EU’s impact on our lives and the European cultural heritage – all of these aspects included in the project are desirable skills in today’s and future European working environments. They are also essential abilities for EU citizenship and the sustainable use of resources and last but not least nature conservation in general.

The project’s results will be published for everyone interested on the Erasmus+ Results Platform. The digitally created educational films, quizzes, games and presentations will be linked in our interactive online and offline posters, but can also be used independently and individually in the lessons of various subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography and Politics. The digital posters will – on the one hand – be uploaded on the schools’ homepages, on the other, presented to local environmental organisations and the departments of environment of the city councils – or they can even be used to support local environmental activities allowing our products to have an effect on the broader community and thus contributing to the increase of environmental awareness. Our print posters will be displayed in the schools and on school presentation days, allowing interested students and parents to get more detailed information using the QR codes that give access to our linked materials.

The assessment of the project’s objectives and the evaluation of product quality will take place continuously on various levels in the course of project duration and includes the participating students, teachers, parents, the school staffs as well as the heads of schools. A sound project evaluation, followed by a subsequent improvement of products and their possible implementation into school curricula will hopefully present the foundation for future project work on environment and sustainability at all our schools and maybe even between our schools once again.

Project Website

https://www.gymnasium-rheinkamp.de/index.php/ueber-uns/erasmus/ersamus-water-for-life

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 164247 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasium Rheinkamp Europaschule Moers & Country: DE

Project Partners

• CCE Virgen del Pasico
• ISTITUTO DI ISTRUZIONE SUPERIORE LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI
• 1st LYCEUM of ALIMOS – THUKYDIDEIO
• Hj. Nortamon peruskoulu