Robotics and programming have become an integral part of today's production standards. Robotics has been taught as an optional subject or part of compulsory education at our four European schools for several years. Across the borders, we have further expanded our robotics teaching for students and especially for schoolgirls in the last two years and extended it for the competitions of the WRO (World Robotics Olympiade). Programming and testing, handicrafts and testing have great learning effects for the students. As in professional practice in technically oriented professions, language barriers were no obstacle in finding technical solutions and experiencing robotics in the community. The participation in the competition was prepared in teams. We would have liked to prove our skills in an nternationally recognized comparative competition, the WRO, but unfortunately Corona did not allow us to participate. All competitions were cancelled. The students learned to use different tasks in the international teams for preparation and consolidation. In the local electives or clubs the learning contents and materials were passed on to the classmates and colleagues. Not only was Lego used, but also other systems like Arduino were tested and built. Learning materials developed during the project are available on different platforms. The project has been documented and is publications are available to all interested parties. In our school we had the Erasmus Information Walls, local school websites and prepared flyers, which were created by each country itself.

Drafting this project in 2017/18, we started in a world waking up to a plastic pandemic while in 2020 we have to finish our project in a world fighting a real pandemic with the help of the material we wanted to fight. In short, that’s the CONTEXT of our project.In 3 years from first draft to final report, our 4 schools have seen sweeping changes that have sometimes overtaken us: In 2018+19, there was so much reporting about the plastic problem that it was hard to keep track of the news. Avoiding plastic came into vogue + we were part of it! We saw friends, colleagues+supermarkets look for sometimes doubtful alternatives so learning about waste disposal, recycling + alternatives to plastic gave our students an edge in discussions. We visited companies, experimented ourselves + shared our experiences. And just when we were preparing to travel to Rome where we wanted to plan how to make our schools plastic-free, our plans became obsolete! The world hunkered down behind plexiglas + disposable facemasks + bought takeaway food in polystyrene. If we returned to school in May at all, we had to wrap computer keyboards in cling film.So, we helped raised students’ + our whole school communities’ awareness of the risk posed by plastic + then learned about its doubtful value, returning to the thought + still following the motto that “we rely on it too much + value it too little” (Guardian, 6 Sept.2017). This ambivalence was not only expressed in the title of our project but shaped its course.In all of that, we have been critical observers + active European citizens working towards our project’s OBJECTIVES: Environmental awareness + a sense of responsibility among our students has increased so that they are more apt to use critical thinking not only to choose more sustainable options as consumers but also to engage in civic life. We have made attempts to foster their employability + have developed as institutions that strengthen environmental + intercultural learning + are more innovative.Learning centred on three areas: the environment, economics, ICT. It took place at school, in our local communities + on a European level when we came together to learn more about the extent of the problem in different countries but also about the solutions that can be found once we look beyond national borders.To do so, we engaged in numerous ACTIVITIES both locally + across Europe: At all schools we had a week without waste disposal to assess how much + which types of waste we produce as an institution + to raise environmental awareness. Similarly, our students monitored plastic consumption at home by compiling a plastic diary + we prepared a meal together in local groups to compare different shopping habits across Europe. Our LiP Clubs took part in local clean-up activities + fundraisers to promote civic engagement. To learn about plastic + alternatives, we had workshops + special chemistry lessons, carried out experiments to learn about the properties of different kinds of plastic + discussed with our students. To gain insight into different branches of the economy, we went on outings to waste treatment + recycling facilities; we met innovative entrepreneurs + talked with them about their business ideas, touched their yarn made from plastic bottles, ate their bran plates or tried to set fire to inflammable cloth used in protective wear. To document our activities, some students developed + showed off their talents as writers, quizmasters or directors of videos that turned into little pieces of art. Via TwinSpace + YouTube we shared impressions of our local activities. To spread the word further, we gave presentations during OpenDay + organised educational events at kindergarten + primary school. Finally, we also had 2 students develop our app “SmartPlastic” for us.This app is one of the most tangible + complex RESULTS of LiP. It can be downloaded from both Playstore + Appstore. Further results can be seen by visiting our TwinSpace + YouTube channel where our students present findings + give advice. Main achievements, however, are what our students have taken home with them in terms of reflecting their own (plastic)consumption, knowledge enabling them to be critical consumers, willingness to be active European citizens, academic + soft skills preparing them for the world of work.This points towards the expected LONGER-TERM BENEFITS: From the outset, we knew that we alone are not going to turn the “vision for Europe’s new plastics economy” into reality. We have learned that institutional change takes much longer but we are underway to become eco-schools. We learned what it takes to develop an app + what it takes to cooperate across Europe. Taking a critical look at the “Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy”, we have learned about the power the EU has to set standards but we also had to learn that Europe will continue to disappoint its citizens by aiming at the lowest common denominator.

"In times of the Corona crisis with a total global shutdown, we ask ourselves what this means for our personal future and the economic system. On a personal level, for many people this has exposed our vulnerability. Yet, others suddenly have time to cook, to spend with their loved ones, to do sports, to perceive body and environment more consciously. They become more mindful. Our current economy is based on total consumption of resources and constant growth. But the crisis has shown that this global capitalist system has taken a hit and is also vulnerable.What is often forgotten is another vulnerable system: the environment.Therefore, our project wants to use the crisis as a chance to scrutinize our values. This crisis teaches us that we need to slow down in order to preserve Creation and that less is more. As a consequence, our project aims at SUFFICIENCY: a modest and adequate scale of living with a focus on sustainability and mindfulness.In previous projects, we have learned that it is not enough to focus on single, isolated aspects. However, as teachers we know how hard it is to adopt interdisciplinary approaches. An Italian initiative to introduce “Sustainability” as an independent subject seemed promising but was dumped. Being aware of the interconnections between1) physical & psychological well-being of the individual2) environmental protection3) consumerism, we take it into our own hands and develop a European Curriculum on Sustainability (ECS) to teach these interconnections. This is what makes ""Earthucation"" special: We aim at a holistic, interdisciplinary approach that makes our students stronger European citizens.The project covers the following objectives:1) to raise awareness of environmental & social issues & solutions2) to educate about sustainability, mindfulness & sufficiency & to relate European school curricula to these concepts3) to boost environmentally friendly habits to reduce our ecological footprint4) to create & try out new teaching methods that are relevant for today's studentsOur 6 schools from all over Europe create the ECS for students aged 13-18. They are the students who take part in our project, create and test interdisciplinary, student-focused and project-related approaches together with their teachers. Adopting a whole-school-approach, students & teachers start initiatives to make their schools more sustainable, mindful places that adopt principles of sufficiency.Each school adds a different topic to the partnership:DK: energy & transportGER: fashion & technologyGR: foodIT: waterLV: ecosystem servicesPL: mindfulnessParticipating students of each school are divided in different EuropeanFocusGroups (EFGs). For a better understanding of our project work, here is an example of the EFG on energy and transport: Each school has a local group that focuses on this topic. The local groups on energy and transport form one EFG. Each group collects relevant information (e.g. how they get to school) and presents it to the other schools’ groups online. Next, they calculate the ecological footprint of the journeys to their schools, compare and contrast, collect suggestions and take action to improve by cycling, using public transport or ride sharing. So we change things ourselves and exert pressure to implement change. Similar scenarios are planned for the other EFGs. Local project work goes hand in hand with exchange in the EFGs following from or leading up to LTTAs. There is also exchange between the different focus groups at each school after each LTTA and in quarterly meetings to carry out dissemination activities.All project work is focused on methods, materials&initiatives that enable students and teachers to compile our ECS and make schools more sustainable. This has the advantage that methods, materials and activities have been tested and approved by students & teachers themselves. It makes our ECS a student-centred, modularised curriculum to implement sustainability, sufficiency and mindfulness in the curricula of other European schools.Long-term benefits are:- pupils have competences to be mindful of their own health, the well-being of others & the environment & to act accordingly; to learn how to communicate in a currently unsustainable, polarised world; to raise awareness without pointing the finger at others, using intercultural competence- schools adopt long-lasting, interdisciplinary environmental initiatives within school life & within a European context; take action to promote environmental consciousness of the local community- the EU achieves a real Green Deal that creates the transformation we need, with new mindsets to decouple economic success from the exploitation of human&natural resourcesWhat do we expect from our European Union? The current crisis once again proves that we Europeans must work together more collaboratively. With our project we can lay the foundation of a trustful and responsible-minded European cooperation in the future."