Let's Break The Disaster Chain By Sports For Our Earth

"<< Background >>Applying for the project was driven by a combination of factors. All humanity was put to the test due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has profoundly transformed lifestyles around the globe, leading to numerous challenges that span economic, psychological, social, and environmental domains. To survive the disease we had to isolate ourselves from each other, we had no chance but to stop doing sports, especially those team ones. We decided to do this project due to reasons such as loneliness, depression, low motivation, and cutting off communication with the environment, which we observed on our students during the pandemic period. In our project, we aimed to minimize the damage caused by the pandemic to both human beings and the environment. We did this project to create environmental awareness in order to leave a cleaner and liveable world to next generations, while socializing our students with outdoor activities and helping them regain their mental as well as physically health. << Objectives >>The project addressed the negative effects of the pandemic on both the environment and people's mental and physical health. By organizing outdoor activities and online training, the project sought to foster environmental awareness, promote socialization through sports, and highlight the issue of climate change. It emphasized bringing together students from different countries to share experiences, tackle common challenges like anxiety and isolation, and engage in activities that build confidence and leadership. The project also aimed to create a broader European vision by exposing participants to new cultures and promoting sustainable development goals through environmental campaigns.Our project was designed to not only tackle the immediate psychological challenges posed by the pandemic but also to install a sense of responsibility and awareness about environmental conservation. By fostering resilience through physical activity and community engagement, we equipped our students with the tools they need to navigate both individual and collective challenges, ultimately creating a more informed and resilient generation.<< Implementation >>The project implemented various activities. These activities included outdoor education and sports, aimed at reducing students' stress, loneliness, and depression while promoting environmental awareness. The project focused on summer and winter sports, such as swimming, diving, hiking, orienteering, skiing, ice-skating and ball games, to foster teamwork, self-esteem, and socialization among students. These sport activities were mostly carried out during LTTA to partner schools. There were also extra sport activities performed at individual partner schools throughout the 2 academic years (sport days, outdoor hiking/field trips). Many pupils had to leave their comfort zone, which was a challenging yet transformative experience that lead to personal growth and development. Moreover, online lessons on climate change were held in cooperation with a university, which helped students understand environmental issues like climate change, sea, and land pollution. Mental Health Days were hosted in cooperation with external organizations. Students had the opportunity to choose from several seminars and workshops focused on the destigmatization of mental disorders. Measurement and evaluation tools were introduced throughout the project.<< Results >>The tangible results were a few:- a project logo was created- outdoor activities were organized by all partner schools, a series of structured summer and winter sports programs designed to encourage participation and engagement among students- sessions and online lessons ""Save Our Earth"" on climate change, pollution of the Earth and sustainability were carried out for 200 pupils, followed by creation of an e-book to be used further for teaching about the climate change- sessions on mental health awareness, resilience-building, and the importance of physical activity for psychological well-being were organised and hold- community days and hiking events that involved students, parents, and local community members to participate in environmental awareness campaigns and sports activities together were held- measurement and evalutions tools were applied and project surveys were carried out to monitor the project goals- handbook of conchology- pupils´ life skills were developed and improved, i.e. engaging in outdoor sports and teamwork activities contributed to increased self-confidence and personal growth, participants noted a newfound appreciation for their abilities and strengths, enhanced leadership and interpersonal skill."