Eco Ambassadeurs

"<< Background >>Our project is a partnership of seven schools for 24 months. The coordinating country is France (Guadeloupe) which, incollaboration with institutions with extensive experience in Erasmus projects (North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Portugal),institutions with a tradition of European projects (Turkey, Italy, Portugal) but sharing a strong motivation to get involved,proposes to carry out this project on the environment: “Eco ambassadors”. This project was born from an objectiveobservation made by the referent partners: the need to instill or consolidate an ecological conscience among the pupilswho, very often, do not know the concrete and basic gestures capable of improving the quality of the life and preserve theenvironment. The priority objective of our project is therefore to rediscover (and in some cases, to discover quite simply)the importance and the benefits of an active and ecological life from an early age. It is essential to create in our studentsan ecological conscience which leads them to adopt positive and protective attitudes towards the environment. Europe,with the 2030 Agenda, has set itself goals that we must all set as priorities for a better future<< Objectives >>Our realistic objectives, which are based on the real needs of our students and which clearly relate to the selectedpriorities: - Become aware of environmental issues and the close relationship with our lives: flora and fauna, ecosystems,climate, health, food, energy ... ""What children learn today will transform the world of tomorrow"". - Establish new behaviorsand attitudes respectful towards the environment by reducing the ecological footprint and promoting a critical mind withregard to consumption patterns and lifestyles. - Train eco-citizens by making them aware of the concerns of sustainabledevelopment and by encouraging them to become informed citizens capable of taking action. - Ensuring the preparationof students for secondary school and for life, developing transversal skills such as research, autonomy, teamwork,initiative, critical thinking, creativity, communication in a foreign language. - Promote the effective integration ofSustainable Development Education in educational programs and school programs. - Knowing and protecting ourheritage as a tool to create bonds of friendships and respect between European students and to establish comparisons and cooperation between different regions. << Implementation >>Through ecological activities carried out with involvement, such as the different artistic productions; newspaper articles and other writings about the project, the students were able todevelop from an intellectual, emotional and moral point of view as a responsible citizen who is sensitive to environmental issues. Thanks to concrete observations during our numerous educational visits allowing us to observe environments to be protected, solutions envisaged to reduce our ecological footprint, environments already greatly weakened by global warming... the students were able to assess environmental health. They developed a positive feelingattitudes towards the environment and proposed more respectful behaviors and lifestyles. In particular by realizing that it was possible to reuse the material to make other objects, hence the interest in selective sorting. By some of theiractivities, students were seen as role models for their peers and adults. They have become aware that protecting the planet is not the business of others or adults, but that they also have a share of responsibility and that they can be respectful of their environment through simple actions.They will become, we hope so,the future defender of our natural heritage.<< Results >>We promoted european cooperation and developed new teaching methods different from traditional ones. -Enrichment of technical skills using ICT (site, videoconference, Powerpoint, emails, eTwinning, facebook). – We used the topic of Sustainable Development as an educational tool facilitating social integration. - Integration of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We proposed them many activities around sustainbility in order to form them to spread and share some ideas in their family and their friends. They created draws, logos, things with material recovery articles and testimonies. Our students kept in touch and continue to communicate with each other. And finally, we think they opened their mind discovering other cultures."