More information
Description
The Vocational School of Computer Programming and Innovations, "Vasil Levski" Secondary School and "Georgi Benkovski" Primary School in Burgas, in cooperation with the Norwegian Prios Kompetanse AS will work together to increase the knowledge of adolescents and adults in the municipality of Burgas on topics related to the circular economy and recycling.
The project aims to offer good practices not only in Burgas, but the whole country and impose new and higher standards of education. This involves a new approach in teaching, transfer of good European practices, improvement of the material base in schools and supporting children to brush up their social and analytical skills.
This is why experts in the field will compose educational modules for 9 schools and 3 kindergartens to promote environmental culture, awareness and behaviour in regard to circular economy and recycling. Students will have the chance to gain knowledge on topics related to environmental protection and the role of man, as well as to acquire valuable digital skills and dexterity during the many activities in the established educational centres, outdoor classrooms, outdoor activities and visits to interesting sites.
The three schools which are the target of the project will conduct six educational campaigns which will inform about the principles of the circular economy, the regulatory framework in the EU and Bulgaria, relevant project results and potential challenges. A study trip to Norway will give impetus to the Bulgarian project partners to apply the Norwegian good practices.
More information about the project is available below:
Summary of project results
The main objective of the project is to build knowledge and understanding on current topics related to resource management, waste recycling and circular economy among educational institutions and the population of Burgas Municipality, through conducting theoretical and practical activities and information campaigns.
The project will contribute to achieving the objectives of the project and the current program through the following specific objectives:
1. Increasing the knowledge and skills of teachers, children and adolescents on the principles of the circular economy, management and recycling of waste and resources.
2. Creating and implementing modern conditions and approaches in educational institutions on the territory of Burgas Municipality.
3. Involving the population of Burgas Municipality and stakeholders in the challenges related to sustainable use of natural resources and sustainable development.
Each of the three schools (Profiled Secondary School for Foreign Languages "Vasil Levski", Burgas (PSSFL), Primary School "Georgi Benkovski", Burgas (PSGB) and Vocational School of Computer Programming and Innovations (BG) chosen a suitable room to be turned into an educational centre. The creation of such high-tech and well-equipped centres specialising in natural sciences and environment provided priceless knowledge on actual topics like circular economy, recycling, climate change and sustainable development. It brought the learning process to a new level, replicating the best European and world practices.
Each of the three Bulgarian schools (PGKPI, PGCE, and OUGB) designated an appropriate room, which was transformed into a training center. Students and their teachers were involved in the creation of the organic gardens as part of the activities planned in the practical modules of the educational campaigns. Educational activities from these campaigns were conducted in the open classrooms. In addition to serving the needs of the project, the rooms are also used for regular lessons from the schools'' educational programs. A total of 750 children and youth were trained within the framework of the activity "Creation of two open classrooms". This was achieved through regular classes in the newly created open classrooms, as well as through participation in various educational initiatives and campaigns. Evidence of this is the attendance lists, which document the participation of each student in each class. The learning process in the two open classrooms was conducted in accordance with the best practices in education. Teachers used interactive teaching methods, including practical activities and projects that encourage the active participation of students. This practice led to a significant increase in the commitment and motivation of students. The photo material from the classes illustrates the dynamic and engaging atmosphere created in the open classrooms. The open classrooms provided a unique opportunity to stimulate the creativity of both students and teachers. Within these spaces, numerous creative workshops were held, such as building a herb garden in the yard of the PGKPI, making greeting cards from recycled paper, which not only develops students'' skills, but also teaches them about sustainability and environmental protection. Publications on social networks and the project website show the variety of creative initiatives implemented in the open classrooms.
The project’s main goal was to hold one environmental hackathon, but three hackathons were conducted. The first was held over three consecutive days and was open to students from all over Bulgaria. Its aim was to highlight the most innovative, convincing, revolutionary, and appealing environmentally-focused project. A maximum of 24 teams were allowed. The next "Codinkids" event took place, where students aged 8 to 14 demonstrated their programming skills, with mentors from PGCPI. "IWD TeensInAI Local Techathon!" for students aged 15-17, with participation from mentors of younger programmers. Teams of students developed projects on themes like "City Cleanliness", "Health", and "Environmental Protection". The last hackathon, with the highest number of participants, involved 56 students from PGCPI – Burgas, PMG – Burgas, PGR – Burgas, NEG – Burgas, and TH – Burgas. Reaching 100,000 people through events, social networks, electronic and print media" and cooperation with the Municipality of Burgas allowed us to reach 17,489 people and increase interest in our project.
Stakeholders at local and regional level:
- Children and students - efforts are directed at them to acquire useful knowledge and skills and build sustainable habits from an early age
- Pedagogical community - teachers are the logical authorities in the life of every child. Тheir positive example is extremely important for environmental education and development of environmental habits of children and students.
- Parental community - education in institutional and home environment are inextricably linked.
- Educational institutions - in Burgas there are 51 schools and 20 kindergartens, and in each of them, the ecological education is represented. - Burgas Municipality - 90% of the educational institutions are municipally owned. The local government is directly involved in the development of the education system.
- Regional Inspectorate of Education Burgas - the institution is responsible for implementing the state educational policy at regional level.
- Environmental NGOs from the region - non-governmental organizations operate throughout the region.
The established educational centers, open air classrooms, delivered equipment and software will continue to be used as intended after the completion of the project activities, encouraging the process of inclusion of other schools and kindergartens in Burgas, whose students want to go through the structured educational programs created within the project.
After the expiration of the warranty support, licenses and insurance of the tangible and intangible assets, each of the educational institutions will allocate a budget for their maintenance and insurance. The teachers engaged in the implementation of the educational programs will continue to teach the educational material , as well as new teachers from other educational institutions from the municipality of Burgas will be attracted.
Summary of bilateral results
The partnership with the Norwegian organization-Prios Kompetanse AS, Norway is expressed in the implementation of good practices in the Bulgarian partner schools and the municipality of Burgas and the strengthening of bilateral cooperation. The Norwegian partner have the responsibility to gather and present good practices in education from Norway and the EEA countries during the working visit of the Bulgarian representatives. During the working visit specific sites are visited where these practices are applied and an opportunity to discuss them with local representatives. A representative of the Norwegian partner came on a working visit for 7 days to Burgas, where he present good examples in the education of the Nordic countries to teachers, students and stakeholders. The good practices that have been identified at the stage of preparation of the project proposal and are envisaged for implementation in the project activities are:Udeskole: Education outside the classroom in a Scandinavian context(https://www.childrenandnature.org/2013/02/12/udeskole-in-scandinavia-teaching-learning-in-natural-places/)This type of training enables children to study in an environment as close as possible to the learning material they are studying, for example visiting waste recycling plants, organic farms, parks, river basins, when the learning material is related to the study of waste recycling. , biodiversity or chemical composition of soil and water, etc. This method has proven to be successful, as children perceive lessons much better, create social skills by working on common tasks and have a tangible effect on their health due to significantly greater physical activity during these classes.