The importance of Green Skills for Education

Green skills are important because they help improve environmental conditions, which are essential for maintaining the quality of our life and ensuring a healthy, sustainable future. Teachers should share their knowledge about it with students to help them understand the importance of environmental responsibility. These skills empower students to contribute to solving global ecological challenges and promote a more eco-conscious society.

The new edition of the course “Green skills for education” took place in Bologna from 16/09/2024 to 20/09/2024. The participants came from all across Europe, with Stiliyana Atanasova-Petrova, Neli Kalova and Tonya Mihaleva from Secondary school "St.Kliment Dhridski" Dalgopol city (Bulgaria), Tomasz Trautman from The University College of Enterprise and Administration in Lublin (WSPA) (Poland), Hanna Mäki-Hallila, Marja Markkanen, Jaana Lepänluoma and Tea Pelkonen from Linnankosken lukio (Finland), Roger Sandström and Ola Sjödin from Hortlaxskolan (Sweden).
 

The first day of the course began with a review of the main theses on green skills, so that participants could get an overview of the structure of the course and the basic concepts of sustainability. The course participants enjoyed exploring this with the Green Skills Pyramid, as the diagram depicts the hierarchy of green skills and how they relate from one element to another.

The next day, a new and interesting topic about sustainable development began. The participants took part in an activity on the SDGs and the Agenda2030 to understand which approaches to everyday life need to be changed and, as a result, to improve their lives, well-being and the ecological state of the world as a whole. Another topic the course covered was how to talk about the climatic global crisis in an appropriate way in order to encourage students to take action without feeling helpless and overwhelmed, for this reason participants learned about environmental success stories.

During the course we also talked about the  5 R principles for the future, which highlighted the main directions for improving modern life and preventing pollution and global warming. The development of critical thinking is also an important stage, and participants had the opportunity to use their critical thinking on the theme of greenwashing, learning to recognize legit brands from false claims.

The final day of the course was spent outdoors in a local park. Outdoor education can be a great ally for teachers that wish to introduce the topics of sustainability and care for the environment because learning to be in nature is the best tool to foster a sense of protection for our planet. Participants were divided into groups and had to complete an outdoor activity made of different tasks and that promotes team building, groupwork, collaboration and inclusion. It was a very fun part of the course as the participants sang, played and had fun, taking on the role of their students for once!

It was an unforgettable experience for each participant because they were able to gain new skills and establish a connection with nature and we want to thank each of the teachers that participated in this course!

Discover more about this course here.