Using Permaculture As A Tool For Environmental Education

Environmental concern has been a worry for some years in our school communities: not only due to curricular content or social awareness, but for a real commitment of our school administrations and faculties for impacting our students, families and teachers to foster their transformation into agents of change in different topics. Past E+ projects allowed us to get to know a set of partners with the same ideas and concerns, and this inevitably yielded in this project. Traditional approaches to the topics related to climate change and sustainability have proven insufficient and the concepts and practices of Permaculture opened a door for new ways of facing the challenges: developing hands-on activities and transforming learning spaces were two of the needs identified to shift the learning and teaching activities in our schools. Some of the partners were experienced in applying Permaculture in their curricula, others had school gardens used as learning spaces, and others had the theoretical & practical expertise to be shared, but no one summarized all these things in one: this project allowed us to put together the partial contributions to get all partners as complete as possible.

To contribute to creating a clean & sustainable environment, we want to integrate students with nature, allowing them to understand the importance of nature as intertwined with it: they need to explore learning environments out of school walls & develop key competencies; we like to create extracurricular content on environmental education through Permaculture. In short: To observe students in a different, aesthetic, healthy & authentic learning space, using the garden for T&L opportunities, integrating gardening and cooking activities across a range of Key Learning Areas (such as art, mathematics or reading), encouraging community partnership in lessons To introduce & spread the Permaculture concept, allowing a better understanding of ecosystem (its importance, the challenges facing the planet, and raising awareness & respect about it), and the concept of sustainable environment, to contribute to protect nature To program for a range of student outcomes, providing for teamwork & cooperative learning activities, enhancing students' critical-thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills, achieving increased self-esteem through a sense of involvement & achievement

Teachers Workshop in Malta Teachers Workshop in Spain (Cantabria) Development of a mobile app on Permaculture Publishing of an ebook 'Schools that grow Minds and Gardens' School garden activities in schools (SEK Atlántico SL, Elit Grup Koleji, Dimotiko Skoleio) engaging students from Kindergarten to High School, involving teachers from Science Dpt and EFL Dpt. Composting activities in schools (SEK Atlántico SL, Elit Grup Koleji, Dimotiko Skoleio) engaging students from Secondary to High School, involving tachers from Science Dpt, Business Management Dpt and EFL Dpt.

A mobile app on Permaculture and environmental education An ebook ('Schools that Grow Minds and Gardens')