Green Crossroads

<< Background >>Our journey together started long before this project in hand, and as a matter of fact this GREEN CROSSROADS project could be seen as a continuation to the ROOTS project, in which we worked on cultural heritage and traditions. During that project we noticed that the world was, and still is changing dramatically. Winter holidays mean no skiing; Springs go by without certain bugs and plants; Summers' heatwaves and indian summers are taking over the autumns; floods and tropical style of rains are occurring frequently. All this touched us deeply and worried us a lot. And so we, a group of schools from all over Europe, felt that we had the responsibility to help our planet, the only one we’ve got, somehow.With the information and knowledge gained from past generations, we were looking ahead, at a crossroads, trying to figure out which is the right path to follow in the future. This project aimed to explore and choose the right green path and thus support the actions of a sustainable future for our planet. << Objectives >>This project alongside with its two end results, the memory game and the Little Green Toolkit, is our attempt to change the direction we are heading, our attempt to make a difference, and we decided that the best way to do so is to change the attitudes of the grown-ups of tomorrow, our students.In the start we had very ambitious goals:1. To transform our schools to zero-waste schools by reducing, reusing and recycling.2. To adopt green habits into our schools' daily lives.3. To reduce energy consumption and implement a wiser water management at our schools.4. To test, evaluate, adopt or adapt methods of the past and present generations for a sustainable way of life.5. To adopt practices that preserve and restore biodiversity in urban and agricultural spaces (depending on the physicalenvironment of each participant’s school).6. To find methods and means to motivate and inspire learners as well as teachers to begin the path towards a moresustainable way of life.7. To support the skills of teachers in active use and implementation of environmental topics into daily teaching.8. To produce a toolkit on climate change and environmental education including theoretical background, innovativeteaching resources and worksheets.<< Implementation >>All the six partner schools were active and innovative primary schools with students aged from 3 to 15. The students, teachers as well as the whole school staff and society took part in a large number of different tasks and activities according to their age and capability. All of the schools worked on learning and adapting greener, sustainable habits already, and got to know the concepts of environmental thinking and sustainable way of living. First of all we introduced the project, its topic, background and objectives to the whole school society in different ways. We continued by evaluating the current state of environmental thinking in the schools and at homes (e.g. the part of the environmental education in the curriculum, and how the waste management and energy consumption work), and started to learn more about each topic, analyze the background and choose the possible ways to continue. We began designing the memory game and the toolkit in an early stageParticipants, both students and teachers, gained a deeper understanding of environmental issues through hands-on activities, discussions, and the development of innovative solutions. By engaging in various eco workshops, outdoor learning activities, and theme days and weeks, they became active agents of change, embracing practices such as waste reduction, energy and water conservation, and biodiversity preservation. Environmental topics and STEAM were incorporated into subjects such as biology, geography, foreign languages, maths, languages and art, and by the means of modern technology there was a chance to enrich the curriculum with real-world applications. The teachers enhanced pedagogical skills by utilising innovative teaching methods, such as project-based learning, collaborative learning, inquiry-based learning and STEAM approach. They developed digital competences and language skills, and the project equipped them with practical resources such as the Little Green Toolkit and the memory game, which both can be used in different subjects and for students of different ages. In addition, teachers exchanged their experiences and innovative methods during all the LTTs and TPMs. The students worked with peers from different cultures during the whole project and especially in the LTT in Poland and LTT in Slovenia. They enhanced teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills. Working on the project at school integrated students from disadvantaged backgrounds and from migrated families. For the participating organizations, the project acted as a catalyst for institutional transformation. Partner schools analyzed the current state of sustainability, learnt about the theoretical background and possibilities, and adopted structured waste management practices (for example developed proper recycling facilities, and produced less food waste, paper waste as well as e-waste) and introduced biodiversity-friendly initiatives (planting trees, plants and herbs). These efforts not only reduced the environmental footprint of schools but also created model environments for sustainable practices.Most of the activities and products were defined by different keywords related to climate change. These were topics such as* refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and then recycle* energy consumption* water management* biodiversity* paper* wood* land* animals* bees* waste* plastics* wool* herbs* fabricConcrete examples of the tasks and activities were the following:- observing different ecosystems- building a garden and a beehouse- visiting waste plants, apiary, libraries, farms, nature trails and reserves, science centres etc.- taking photos of nature in the hometown- counting and measuring the waste produced in the classroom, in the school canteen, and comparingthe results- using, creating and promoting multi-purposeproducts- making different presentations on environmental topics- organising displays about the work (e.g. photo display)- making recycled products for a flea market and the bazaar- clothes exchange- writing a blog- writing an environmental diary- hosting the mascots at home- arranging recyling competitions - working a green agents (e.g. surveillance of the food waste or the recycling in the classes- cleaning and collecting trash from the surrounding areas- picking berries and mushrooms- cooking traditional foods- getting to know organic farming and products << Results >>* RAISING AWARENESS AND CHANGING THE ATTITUDES* INCREASING MOTIVATION; AWARENESS, PARTICIPATION AND COLLABORATION* UNDERSTANDING, PROMOTION AND CARE OF BIODIVERSITY* DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE, ANDTECHNOLOGICAL SKILLS OF THE PARTICIPANTS* REDUCTION OF WASTE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT* REDUCTION OF WASTE AND WATER WASTAGE* A STEP TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLOne of the main goals was to raise awareness on environmental issues and make things visible, and by doing so change the way of thinking and as schools start acting in a sustainable way. We had a strong belief that little things have a huge effect, especially when they are done collectively, and we wanted to show that by making even small steps, believing in your cause and being persistant you can get closer to reaching the goals.This all means that students and teachers took actively part in sustainable activities and together were looking for ways how to preserve our planet in a sustainable way. At the same time learning from the others and teaching children in a better, new, different, maybe even more interesting way took place. One of the main achievements was also the successful exchange of examples of good practice among geographically and culturally different partners. The examples of good practice were tried out also among other partners. In our own minds the planned achievements and results were well achieved as the tasks planned were carried out with huge motivation. In addition our project touched directly or indirectly the lives of hundreds or even thousands of people, and thus hopefully had an effect on the daily habits and overall thinking.The students involved, from the youngest to the oldest, have carried out the project with ever-increasing interest, curiosity and commitment, actively working/cooperating also outside of school, involving the adults of reference. Almost all the activities were developed in an interdisciplinary way to give an overall and real vision of what was proposed, actively involving disadvantaged students as well. The meetings between students during the meetings and the preparation period of such moments were a great stimulus for the implementation of the study of foreign languages.After three years of work, the pupils have developed much more sensitive attitudes towards recycling and especially towards avoiding waste. They also developed good critical and self-regulation skills, pointing out when someone wasted paper, did not put paper in the recycling box or when lights were not switched off unless necessary.In our opinion the project significantly influenced all involved groups: students, teachers, partner schools, fostering awareness, practical skills, and long-term changes towards sustainability. Participants, both students and teachers, gained a deeper understanding of environmental issues through hands-on activities, discussions, and the development of innovative solutions. By engaging in various eco workshops, outdoor learning activities, and theme days and weeks, they became active agents of change, embracing practices such as waste reduction, energy and water conservation, and biodiversity preservation. Environmental topics and STEAM were incorporated into subjects such as biology, geography, foreign languages, maths, languages and art, and by the means of modern technology there was a chance to enrich the curriculum with real-world applications. In addition all the project schools worked hard to reach the goal of waste reduction, ans some school made concrete accomplishments by significantly decreasing their overall waste and food waste.THE LITTLE GREEN TOOLKIT AND THE MEMORY GAMEAlready at the planning stage we felt the need for some concrete tools to raise awareness, awoke critical thinking and all in all keep the process going on in the classes and within the staff. The devoleped memory game and especially the toolkit became a source of joy and capability to us, and we truly feel proud of those accomplishments. With the toolkit we want to cultivate the sense of environmental responsibility among big and small and at the same time cherish critical thinking and problem solving, and to empower the students with knowledge We hope that its readers keep in mind the benefits of experiential learning approach and collaboration, believe in their cause and focus on the positive solutions and actions.Most importantly now we don’t just do better things, but we learned to see matters in a different way than before. Even though we were not able to turn our schools into zero-waste schools entirely and made many other mistakes on the way, we all learned to see things differently, dig deeper, question the choices we make in everyday life, and we made the decision to start taking an active role in the change towards sustainable life. We aren’t the passengers anymore. We are the drivers.