Show you care about the Danube, apply for ESFLP

School classes from seventh to tenth grade can now apply for the school environment initiative European Schools for a Living Planet of WWF and ERSTE Foundation.

Pupils from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia or Ukraine are invited to develop nature conservation projects on the subjects of ecological footprint and healthy rivers. A joint cross-border eco-action in all participating countries will form the highlight of the initiative.

"Participants can look forward to an exciting exchange with school classes from eleven European countries”, stated Barbara Tauscher, leader of WWF Austria’s environmental education programme. "With ′European Schools for a Living Planet′ we want to show pupils the possibility to get active for their environment and to shape their future.”

The participation is free. Deadline for applications is 9 July 2013. Further information and registration at the website of the initiative.

The school environment initiative starts with a one-week pupil-teacher academy in Austria from 27 September to 2 October 2013. Via workshops and outdoor activities WWF eco-pedagogues and various nature conservation experts will introduce the pupils and their class teachers to the project topics ‚Ecological Footprint – Consumption’s global effects’, ‚Danube – Europe’s lifeline’ and ‚Active citizenship – mobilising and motivating others’.

Project management, team building and public relations will be on the programme too. Until the end of the school year the pupils will have time to develop and implement their personal nature conservation projects. The project ideas and realisation is completely up to the pupils’ creativity. Activities may range from street theatre performances and exhibitions to newspaper series and action plans for schools.

During the school year the progress of the nature conservation projects can be watched via the publicly accessible interactive weblog http://schools.foralivingplanet.eu. There the school classes will keep project diaries, post pictures and videos about their projects and exchange experiences.

Pupils, teachers and anyone else visiting the site can comment on every project activity. In June 2014 pupils and teachers will again gather in Romania for a big concluding event. There they will present their nature conservation activities, share their experiences with each other and develop ideas for a joint cross-border eco-action in autumn 2014. 

The participation in the school environment initiative is free. In addition, the participating classes receive financial support for the implementation of their nature conservation projects. Language of the academy, the project documentation and the final event is English.

"The initiative ‚European Schools for a Living Planet‘ offers a very important supplement of our cross -border education projects. We are very happy, that the group of young people, who creatively engage with our environments’ future in an international exchange, becomes bigger every year”, states Doraja Eberle, Chairwoman of the Board of ERSTE Foundation.