Erasmus+ Project: Reducing our own footprint by growing local vegetables
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2019 -2021
- Assigned Budget 67.361,5 €
- Scope Europeo
- Autonomous community Cataluña
- Main source of financing Erasmus +
Project topics were assessed in various areas, including employability, education, and globalization. Social inclusion was the first topic on our minds, as growing vegetables in our gardens allows for better relationships between teachers and students. In addition, our mentoring program, which includes short-term student family exchanges, underwent its own evaluation. Some objectives were not evaluated within the project timeframe as we had previously considered, but more activities now require a forward-looking approach due to the pandemic. People at risk of social exclusion were eager to further disseminate our project in their communities.
Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic, this family inclusion aspect was not achieved because we had to stop working at the school, and all the crops in our gardens died. Furthermore, it was completely forbidden for anyone outside the classroom groups to participate in schoolwork. The project beneficiaries have been students, schools, teachers, families (especially those who participated in the real-life mobility and the three online mobility sessions), stakeholders, and the areas where our students implemented the acquired knowledge. In addition, there were students with special needs who, thanks to the project, reached their full potential and had the opportunity to improve certain skills.
Five areas of action: growing local seeds, building a greenhouse, a mentoring program (which was not achieved as explained above), and sourcing our own local seeds (which was also a bit difficult, as our crops withered for many months and we all had to replant with previous local seeds).
We achieved these objectives through a specific number of activities, as well as specific management and evaluation methods. Almost all activities had an initial phase in each school, coordinated through eTwinning, and a second, internationalized phase, which took place in the four short-term student exchanges, one in each school.
The first thing we want to mention about our project is that it was developed during a global pandemic. We requested an additional year to meet our goals, as we thought the pandemic would end in a few months. As we all know, this was not the case, and we want to emphasize that it took a huge effort from all partners to continue the project and modify our plans. This project was carried out by a group of four schools from four European countries: Spain (coordinator), France, Italy, and Latvia. They shared different experiences in various areas of teaching and learning, as well as a desire to develop these skills.
We grew our gardens, built our greenhouses (although bad weather in Spain and France destroyed our first greenhouse), and decided to exchange information about the possibility of including home automation in our greenhouses in the future, even after the project has ended. Similarly, the French and Catalan teams shared with our partners our willingness to host students in the future without participating in any Erasmus projects, as we missed the experience in Latvia, Italy, and France. We had the necessary elements to ensure the project's smooth running. The coordinating center had successfully organized other European projects, and the other centers repeatedly demonstrated their proactivity and teamwork skills throughout the project.
All countries were very helpful during the pandemic, and we all remained open-minded and willing to adapt activities that required a new perspective due to the pandemic. Evaluations were conducted to correct any problems at various times, but especially at the end of each semester and at the end of the project. We disseminated the project through various means: eTwinning and TwinSpace were the main platforms for communication and collection of all the materials and completed tasks. It will also be disseminated through the local press, social media, and school websites.
- Name of coordinator/entity: Institut Escola Sant Jordi
- Postal address: C. Puig-Reig, s/n, 08670 Navas
- Telephone: 938390981
- Institut Escola Sant Jordi
- Colegio Jean Rostand
- ESCUELA SECUNDARIA EDGARS KAULINS LIELVARDE
- ESCUELA SECUNDARIA ESTATAL "LUIGI CALAMATTA"
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