Scooping The Experience in the Ever Green City
Valencia
As part of Erasmus+ program (Accreditation No. 2023-1-LT01-KA121-SCH-000117775), Rozvita Brazaitienė, Deputy Director at President Valdas Adamkus Gymnasium, Birutė Krapauskienė, Deputy Director at President Valdas Adamkus Gymnasium, and Vita Janušienė, teacher at President Valdas Adamkus Gymnasium, participated in a professional training course entitled “Teaching Sustainability and How to Deal with Eco-anxiety in School” in Valencia, Spain, on 8-12 April 2024. The training was organised by UNO (Asociación Para El Desarrollo Socioemocional De La Persona, La Sociedad Y Para La Cooperación Internacional Uno) and focused on fundamentals of sustainability education, eco-anxiety and non-formal education approaches for teaching sustainability. Emphasizing the context of sustainability, the training took place in a special place, the city of Valencia, which earned the title of European Green Capital 2024. The comprehensive and interesting training program represented the concept of sustainable development, the challenges of sustainability in education and how teachers can promote sustainability in their school. The lecturers shared practical advice on how to implement the principles of sustainability in daily educational activities, how to include sustainability topics in the lesson plans, how to encourage students to be sustainable and responsible citizens, and how to organize sustainability projects and initiatives at school. The participants of the professional develpment course appreciated the fact that some of the training activities took place in the green spaces of the city, which, according to the data provided by the European Commission, occupy as much as 5 million square meters of the city space. Discussions on Eco-Anxiety and Mindfulness took place in El Jardí del Túria Park, which is the most prominent example of Valencia's green spaces. The nine-kilometer-long park is located in the bed of the Turia River, which once flowed through the city. The participants of the course are grateful for the international practice, new experience, good emotions and inspiration!
Impressions from the training in Valencia