Rangers Of Change

School No. 195 became Green School in 2018. The teachers involved used experience from the training course for Green Schools. They had developed climate education, environmental, recycling activities with students in 2018-2021. Organizing extracurricular environmental and sustainability activities, they noticed students took part gladly to these activities, involving friends, family. They wanted to exchange experience with other teachers & students from schools in Europe. ROC coordinator coordinated Green Schools in Bucharest, in cooperation partnership with WWF, Greeninitiative, British Council, being involved in "Climate Action in Education" program for teachers, coordinated by WWF, participating to the training organized by British Council in February 2022. Participant teachers used skills acquired in the training course to improve students' education in climate action, sustainability, environmental awareness. ROC coordinator initiated "4/4 Project For Friends" in the school in 2018, cooperating with the US Embassy and American Council. Through ROC students discovered new climate action, recycling, becoming more creative, collaborating, sharing ideas with family and friends.

ROC project informed teenagers, communities, changed attitudes, practices for environmental protection; participants acquired skills through hands-on, interactive activities using experiential learning; they carried out collective projects that generated change at individual/ school/ community level, through learning outcomes; they obtained complex learning experiences, combining non-formal, informal education, respecting principles of education for sustainable development (student-centered, critical thinking, systemic thinking, partnership, participation, connected to children’s real lives and communities, oriented towards solutions and actions). ROC activities reconnected people with nature through a direct emotional relationship with the environment. Teachers integrated education for sustainable development into school curriculum, through a curriculum offer at the school's decision, adaptable to the local context, linking environmental protection themes with economy, society, culture, education, heritage, health, social inclusion. Teachers created activities that sparked students' curiosity, using inquiry learning, a method in which students learn by asking questions, discovering the answers themselves, and sharing them.

ROC trained participants as decision makers, agents of long-term change. Students developed ecological skills; partner schools and communities have gained people who belong to a more ecological environment. By implementing ROC activities, our students learned to live ecologically, to reduce, to save money through the efficient use of resources. Partner schools have become greener, more beautiful; they accessed new teaching resources, specialist knowledge; they received financial support. ROC improved cooperation in finding solutions for climate change problems at the local, regional, national, global level; ROC involved the participants socially, ecologically, physically, made them understand the effects of climate change, trained them to communicate effectively and make decisions. Coordinators developed resources and tools to support decisions. ROC implemented activities for schools and local communities by initiating campaigns, relevant experiences to address the climate crisis; the project generated connecting ideas, information, opportunities and stakeholders for our actions: scientists, organizations, community members. Students understood the impact of climate change and analyzed information about resources.

Results: website (www.rangersofchange.eu), E-book (to allow people to connect, explain, share emotions- https://rangersofchange.eu/ERASMUS-ROC-ebook.pdf ); Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/rangersofchange?locale=ro_RO); Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/rangersofchange/); recycling competitions, electricity saving campaigns, walk-to-school, tree planting campaigns. ROC generated reports with quantities of recycled materials, batteries, household appliances, meetings with decision-makers, with politicians, ambassadors, consuls, journalists to whom it disseminated ROC results. Students learned to create leaflets, posters, stories; they shared them, brainstormed experiential learning strategies and tools (project-based learning approaches). Participants published impactful articles. ROC results are reusable, further inspiring work in climate education. ROC created networks of teachers, students, green clubs; developed skills that young people need to shape their behaviour (creative, collaborative, problem-solving, evidence-based decision-making, reasoning, empathy, ability to communicate opinion).