Green School - every day for future

Description

The issue of tackling climate change in the world, as well as in Slovakia, is currently one of the most important. According to the European Commission, an important part of the move towards climate neutrality is educating the next generation and preparing them for civic engagement in the field of the environment. For this reason, there is a Green School program in Slovakia, which is the largest environmental education program, involving 309 kindergartens, primary, secondary and special schools (30,000 students) in various regions, cities and municipalities.

The aim of the project is the creation of 10 inspiring centres in the various regions of the Slovak republic through training of 20 teachers, who will become leaders of civic engagement. These leaders will implement practical educational events for at least 400 teachers and workers of local governments with emphasis on the participation of the children in their implementation until the end of the project. They will become the carriers of changes and inspiration in schools, and for schools and local governments, thereby contributing to the formation of civic engagement.

The project will be beneficial for children and youth, teachers, parents. It will provide an opportunity for civic engagement to pupils, students, parents and also teachers in the field of the environment. It will make Slovakia a country that will be a good example of how green schools work in the world.

The project partner - the Technical University in Zvolen, together with the project implementer, will prepare a conference for local governments, within which it will provide free space, teachers as lecturers for seminars and courses, organisational assistance (student volunteers). It will also continuously publish information about the project activities at www.tuzvo.sk, in the University magazine, in the Newsletter, at the Facebook page of the Technical University and also at the page of the Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Studies.

Summary of project results

The project responded to the current challenge of climate change, the consequences of which we feel in our daily lives in Slovakia, which, as a member of the European Union, has joined the Grean Deal. Pupils in Slovakia lag behind OECD pupils in understanding and explaining complex global issues, including climate change (IEP, 2021), teachers do not have sufficient skills and experience in teaching climate change in various subjects. The participation of local people is important in adaptation measures, for which it is necessary to prepare pupils as well as teachers.The project implementers turned 10 schools into inspiring centers in various regions of Slovakia through the training and supervision of 20 teachers. Practitioners brought them the latest information from the European context, climate change research, ecosystem services and green infrastructure, practical experience in civic engagement and advocacy of citizens'' environmental rights and practical adaptation measures of municipalities and cities, innovative approaches to the protection of natural forests as key ecosystems for climate change mitigation. Among these experts were: Michal Wiezik - ecologist, Member of the European Parliament, Jana Škvareninová - associate professor at the Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Studies at the Technical University in Zvolen, lawyer Eva Kováčechová and many others. Teachers innovated teaching, implemented information activities for parents and residents, shared examples of good practice with other teachers of the Green School program. Inspirations for local governments and the public were presented at the conference How to make climate change in practice. The project has helped to raise teachers'' awareness and improve their skills in teaching about climate change.Main results: trained teachers, videos from schools with examples of good practice, a series of video lectures from the conference for local governments and the public, a game for schools.