About the project

Our planet is changing rapidly and most of it is a direct result of the way we (ab)use the earth’s natural resources and what we do with all the "rest products" of our consumerism. If we want to make an impact on peoples’ behaviour we need to involve the younger generation. The main objective of our project is therefore to make students and other participants aware of their own ecological footprint, to provide them with the knowledge to make positive changes and to reduce the participants’ and schools’ ecological footprint. During the project the participants will discuss and find out what each individual can do to directly influence their environment. We want students to take initiative inside, but also outside school. Sharing today’s strategy of each partner will create new plans for tomorrow.

As each partner is dealing with upcoming environmental issues in a different way, our main motivation is to share this experience and prepare students for the future. The use of water resources in the Netherlands, paper free schools in Denmark, the implementation of new subjects regarding ecological issues in Serbia, waste separation in Germany, are just a few examples. In this project we want to help students understand the importance of environmental and climate change and give teachers new tools to use in the classroom. Therefore, we will create activities and implement them in the school’s curricula and programmes. We want to have a closer look at important issues concerning the environmental responsibility of educational institutions. Furthermore, we want students to gain knowledge on how to consciously use resources but also on how to produce their own.

The participants will gain knowledge on how their choices are connected to their ecological footprint. During each LTT, students and teachers will work on the designated topics: water usage (The Netherlands), energy (Denmark), food (Serbia) and waste and upcycling (Germany). Participants will work in international groups on tasks and ideas related to reducing their ecological footprint. They will create digital and physical products, as well as share their results on social media to raise more awareness in and outside school. Our methodological strategies are: 1. Group work 2. Workshops carried out by students and/or teachers 3. Discussions 4. Online interaction via Etwinning. Most of the planned activities will have direct results which will be measurable and visible (e.g. via eTwinning). For example, we will have a number of publications and/or mentions in (local) newspapers and on social media. We will create products like a booklet, a digital book including eco-friendly recipes, costumes, guides and YouTube videos. An app will be created in order to help students visualize their environmental impact. Other results concerning the curricula will be workshops, lesson plans and training programmes.

During each LTT, participants will carry out community projects like planting a tree, collecting donations and cleaning the neighbourhood. Additionally, the participants will practice their language skills and they become more culturally aware. They will practice STEM and math skills. They will learn how to design and transform their ideas into concrete digital products. Our student participants are between 12 and 17 years old. During the project’s duration at least 60 students will take part in a mobility and visit the other schools and countries. During mobilities we will also include students staying at home through the usage of eTwinning. At least another 100 students will be involved with activities in our schools at home when preparing for or finishing up mobilities. After our project has ended, the improvements we have proposed in the project concerning recycling, efficient use of energy, awareness of water usage and our food choices will continue to be executed in the future. Moreover, we will encourage all students, teachers and school staff to grow and advance our ideas in order to keep evolving and make progressive changes to reduce our schools’ ecological footprint.

Throughout this project, many different innovative activities, lesson plans and workshops will be created which we will implement into our schools’ curricula. Hopefully, the positive impact through this project will not only lead to a larger reduction of our schools’ ecological footprint, but will also have a positive impact on the environmental consciousness of our students, teachers, schools, and as a result, other schools in the participating countries.