Final transnational meeting

Reminder: the English version of the handbook is ready to download by clicking here.

The project`s final transnational session took place in Estonia from February 10th to 15th. During this time, we focused on making final adjustments to the compilation of activities for the handbook as well as learning from the various schools we visited.

The first school visit was to the green flag school in Rakvere. There we were introduced to the zero-energy building, their environmental education principles, and all their amazing facilities. We participated in digital learning activities where we were introduced to the many uses of QR-codes and programming toys. We were truly amazed and inspired by the school.

After that we took a bus to Lahemaa National Park where we took a nature walk in the forest until we arrived to the sea shore village Altja. Finally, we ended up in Sagadi nature school, where we stayed for the next 2 days. During our stay there, we focused on working towards making the final adjustments to the handbook.

The monotony of analysis and writing was broken up by sessions when the Estonian team intoduced various activities and games for children. Even though these games would not end up in this version of the handbook, they continue the tradition of experience sharing between the countries, with the aim of making the process sustainable once the project concludes. During this time, the groups from all four countries started to get to know each other better through the games, and socializing time during the evenings.

After all the hard work in Sagadi, we drove south to Tartu for a visit to the Tartu Environmental Education Centre. That was a very special institution intended for children in the area to come for shorter periods at a time and learn specially about nature. The facilities were amazing, the number of gadgets and tools the children could use to learn were staggering. And the diversity of plants and animals is a testament to their dedication to teaching biodiversity.

The visit to Rannamoisa kindergarden also stood out. The location of the kindergarten seemed perfect for environmental teaching, as the kids had access to domestic animals on the kindergarten grounds, and the forest and beach was very close by. The environment around the school and their use of self-grown vegetables for food was very inspiring.

The farewell party that evening was the perfect icing on the cake, and a very fun event rounding up the trip and cementing all the new friendships created during the project.

Soon after the session, the COVID-19 pandemic was announced, so our plans for dissemianting the handbook have been put on hold. We plan to hold the dissemination seminars in the autumn as well, hoping that the situation calms down by then. As for the coming months, the teams are hard at work finalizing the Estonian, Icelandic, Latvian and Slovenian versions of the handbook.

Authors: Egill Helgason, Martin Aher