https://www.tartuloodusmaja.ee https://www.ecoschools.global/ https://www.b-s-p.org/ https://polkuedu.fi/ …
hello everyone Welcome to our webinar on the topic of understanding circular economy through Environmental Education quality assurance it’s a great pleasure to have you here all Educators and professionals um to and you’re ready to explore uh how we can make Environmental Education more impactful and uh connected to the topic of uh circular economy we’ll be sharing uh practical tools today well my name is gy matis and I am from dto nature house from Estonia and I’m the Project Lead ER and um a co-host of this event today uh it’s very nice to see you here uh probably more participants will join during uh the webinar um during this webinar we will uh share some practical tools some ideas and share our experiences from this uh joint project that we have and uh we will learn together to find uh new ways to um uh talk about circular economy uh and to educate people about so some of you might still uh enter some words we wanted uh to start the webinar with a question of what do you think is the biggest barrier to high quality Environmental Education in your opinion and we see here that um a lot of you haven’t answered lack of something because the word lack is the biggest in the word cloud thank you for entering your um words and we see here that continuity uh competences teachers some topics uh audiences also um knowledge time and something is hard or misconceptions I think these are all very good and see that people are adding more because we will have more participants throughout the webinar so sometimes we will continue and um repeat how to use the tools so to start with this question it’s very good to see that we have found the same similar barriers and um I would like to now continue with the next slide so like previous I told that I am gy uh myen and I work in D Environmental Education Center in Estonia and uh today we will be sharing uh some of the knowledge that we um gained through one of the Erasmus Plus um projects that we uh did jointly together with our finished Partners this was a one-year project as you see here in the slide it’s the duration only this year and it will end with this webinar and we will collect some ideas also from this webinar so this is very important for us so uh to be active during the webinar um don’t be shy to write in chat or uh raise your hand if you have any questions during it so we we uh together with um uh Finnish Partners we wrote this project called together towards improved quality of Environmental Education because we also found that tackling these challenges that you wrote in the wordcloud is very needed um both in both of our organizations all right so to give you a really quick overview of what was the project that about so we will start sharing more of the Practical tools that we found and created within but the idea was to Foster collaboration between our organizations and to see what’s already here in Finland and in Estonia on National level uh what can support our organizations of giving a nonformal Environmental Education so also very important for us both for ations uh found necessary to promote climate action that’s why we came up also that circular economy is a topic that needs to be addressed and uh something that we really wanted to support for the school curriculum uh so the teachers will be able to make more uh lessons with our help and of course enhancing our own professional competen es um because both of our organizations in Finland and in Estonia we have environmental Educators so-called program facilitators or lesson facilitators we go either to a classroom or school or the school comes to us in Estonian case a lot of schools come to our Center but in Finnish case a lot of um schools are invited them uh to go to schools so they they have a big area to cover so it’s a little bit different approaches of programs as well uh here like I told it was a project between two partners but we had Associated Partners as well the main partner from Estonian is uh dark to Nature house and the main partner from Finland is Helsinki metropolitan area reuse centers environmental school bco as you see from the backgrounds I represent uh D nature house and some who has different background is say in bco they are from Finland but both of Estonia and uh Finnish side we had the associated partners that were um really uh important uh because they are responsible of the national um Quality Assurance systems in Estonia in case it’s Estonian Environmental Education Association and in Finnish case it is The Finnish Association of Nature and the environmental schools so-called l so together uh we came up this project idea but um because there’s two main Partners we would like to have a short overview or introduction about our centers as well because this webinar is also very important to find new col collaboration Partners so if you are here today if you find uh the work that we do interested you are more than welcome to contact us later to find a new project ideas or to find out more what we did during this project we do only have two hours today so it will end uh the webinar will end at one o’clock but uh we will be more than welcome to uh chat later on uh through mails and so on but um I talk a little bit about art to Nature house and you are welcome to visit us uh online uh There’s the link and you will also receive the presentation after this uh webinar um you can find a virtual tour actually about nature house and you can walk around nature house and investigate in nature house we actually have three main parts um it’s nature school we have almost uh five to 600 students every year and we have many hobby classes from orology to uh animals friends to geology and so on then we have a training center uh and this is me meant for schools and kindergartens to order some of the programs to fulfill uh School curriculum National curriculum also Training Center provides uh training for teachers and uh some kind of um uh trainings for the public uh on different areas um for example um waste uh management or sorting of waste and and for example composting um we have visitor center as well which means that the house itself is uh open for people to come in to see uh what’s happening here and we have an info center down uh stairs that uh will uh provide some of the activities for just visitors as well um you’re all welcome to visit tto nature house uh and uh then you will learn about what we do here this is meant for families communities and tourists so the community part is very important for us we do quite a lot of events quite a lot of um Family days uh to interact with the parents of our uh hobby school students but also just to uh raise awareness about different environmental topics um so the topics that we can relate maybe with the new collaboration partner and also what was important when we started this project uh you can see here so it’s we are really committed to sustainability we follow environmental um policies that we have we are part of a green office system as well we have this certificate and it’s very important for us to preserve biodiversity we give some information about waste management and so on um also we try to be as a as a good example of all of these topics uh uh when people come to the nature house they will see for instance how rain water could be collected and how it could be used uh in the toilets for example for water conservation so we have some of the samples here that people can come and investigate and try to see if that fits to their Center as well the next slide we’ll show a bit that we are part of big um Global communities as well first of them is Echo schools uh Community um we have a lot of Estonian schools joined the second big one is UNESCO Associated schools Network and we are coordinating the Estonian activities in both of those um networks uh D nature house is also a founding member of Estonian stem education Union and the member of Estonian Association of hobby schools but uh I try to make it uh quite shortly if you’re interested in more of them uh about our Center I will be glad to provide you another slideshow uh later after this webinar just uh let me know by writing to my email I will provide my email at the end of this webinar but um uh if you do have any questions then later on but now I will give the control to Lena Nar thank you very much KY um yes so my name is Lena nari and I am the head of the environmental School Pulu and well in this project it has been a real pleasure to um get to know also the tarto nature school and it’s actually uh fun how we have a lot of similarities in our work but also very different approaches and it has also been very interesting to see how also different countries have a little bit different realities in the uh in the whole Environmental Education systems so this has been a very um uh nice opportunity to learn from each other but I will also tell you a little bit about our environmental School uh there you also see our um the address of our uh web pages so you can find more information from there and you can also contact me uh the same way if you happen to have more questions so Al my contacts will be uh shared in the end of this um webinar so um actually our environmental school is part of a bigger company that is the Helsinki metropolitan area reuse center in ficia it’s uh we are called like or people know us from the name katus gesus and um the whole company Works to enable sustainable Lifestyles and we try to save natural resources and actually uh how we do it uh is that we uh sell uh re reused um items like anything people might have they donate it from to us and we have at the moment 14 different uh reuse stores and one um online store also where we sell uh these items and the company has also different workshops where we upcycle things and repair uh for example bicycles and electronics but um this um environmental school work is a part of the company and um uh the point is of course to improve the knowledge uh about these sustainable LIF style issues and our environmental school is also uh part uh or a member of The Finnish Association of natur Nature and environmental schools so um this way um we are um participating also to the bigger network of the environmental schools and nature schools in the whole Finland and um well Johanna will tell you a little bit more about L later on um yes so what our school um does every year we have about 2,000 lessons for the school kids and for the daycare kids it might be also adults are very different kind of groups uh often the lessons um are held in the schools so we don’t have uh in the same way our own locations uh where a nice nature house as the T nature house has but we go to the where our clients are I would say and besides these lessons we also produce teaching materials and trainings for teachers and Educators so it’s often different kind of projects and uh um we are also interested uh in possible new project if somebody has something nice to propose us and and um well uh our way of work is such that uh like our school doesn’t really have our own funding in such but we work with different kind of cooperation Partners so uh for example this helsink region Environmental Services is one of our um longtime uh partners with who we um have been doing this um school and daycare visits already very long so they are actually the ones who uh um um who um well they they they found most of our uh School visits at the moment uh yes and then still some more um more key figures so at the moment we have about 30 lesson plans that are in use so um um the themes they vary from sustainable lifestyle circular economy sustainable use of water and uh well this comes also in a big part uh from our Cooper cooperation partners and um uh especially after the corona times um more and more of our lessons have been held outside we we might meet the classes in the schoolyards or in the park beside the schools so this why this way we also like promote the the idea that you can go have the teaching also outside and every week every year we meet about uh 30,000 Learners so anyways quite quite big numbers and besides uh the the the visits that uh we we go to the schools even though we don’t really have our uh like classrooms in our Stores um also uh for example uh we use um our uh companies uh example uh in the Environmental Education so that um um groups can also visit our stores and um yes like I already said we have already 14 different stores all around H hink Capital Area so um there is lot of options to get to know our work but maybe this was uh some some information about our work in a nutshell and if you want to learn more you are free to contact me also like something that comes first to your mind or yes yes now something appears so nature experiences organization the government the go guidelines enthusiasm competence Educators nature experiences yes very good and need more um handson experience and guidelines did I mention already okay and more words coming but they are they seem to be very uh they are same size here competence now is like uh appearing bigger so very good possibilities are here also [Music] mentioned and yeah even more but the competence is still there like the bigger one yeah okay very good and if you still are posting something go ahead we can still keep this a little while so guidelines exercises are there a budget also mentioned and student very good okay thank you so this is the approach in our project so we have um identified in our organizations here that um there are two different approaches and you will hear more about these today but first I can also introduce myself my name is anoa and I work in environmental School PA as an Environmental Education specialist and uh I I have also been a part of this project but in this figure we have uh we show you the uh similarities and also the differences in our organizations uh the Finish system uh it um there is a organization level program level and facil facilitator level and it all starts from the organization and going from the programs to the facilitators the main focus in is on organizations and on the other other hand here in Estonia the program level is the like the main level and then also uh facilitators the level there is um uh quite significant and then the organization level is is like little bit smaller and I think uh it would be uh good time now to start uh with the Finish system and the organization level there but um to hear more about the Finish system I would like to welcome Johanna sunik from Li to tell you more about the C system here in Finland and the system that the Finnish Association for nature and environmental schools is um a hosting sustainability environmental value keeping the quality so quite many quality better something that’s good trust that’s a I think yeah one uh important point of view give something that’s also a but credibility yes okay that’s well there’s still some coming but um um most answered or most said word is quality so I think that’s pretty much what is it about or at least uh in our perspective perspective H shared values that’s good too yes I think we can go ahead so here the organization level so Johanna can can tell you more about this one in here in Finland side and maybe after that KY can comment on the Estonian part so my name is johanik and I’m working as an executive manager in this finish Association for nature and environment schools l in Finland uh uh we started in 2007 and uh we are a a Nationwide Nationwide U organization NGO uh that our host um uh and our aim is to promote the strong uh nature connectedness of children and young people and and their ecologically sustainable uh way of life and future uh how we are doing this we have a sort of three um main um models or products that we are doing uh we are the National coordinator of uh uh nature environmental school and there are around uh 50 members Nationwide in our uh uh network uh and it means that uh all kinds of of centers in Finland who does have uh Environmental Education environmental educational programs for children and young people they could they are part of our network uh but the uh main actions take place in in these local centers so we don’t own the centers or we don’t uh they are only a part of their Network so these are Network these centers they uh offer uh nature Environmental Education activities for groups of children and young people and quite many of them also have some uh training for teachers and Educators uh and uh we are also a National Youth Center organization and we uh get a General Grant of funding from the Ministry of Education and culture but we also have um different kinds of uh different other uh fundra fundraising activities and programs and uh we projects and uh we also very very much like to uh get new Partnerships and uh to get some new project ideas also so please feel free to contact us if if necessary outside this network we also are one of the biggest um products is this MAA uh which is a open service for everyone interest in environmental educational materials and outdoor educational or learning materials um and it’s an material tank and search in in and sharing platform for all teachers and Educators to use or everyone in anyone interested in that in this topics topics and then we also um organize this uh big uh Environmental Education and outdoor educational event OS out which which takes uh part in every third year so the next one will be in 2026 so uh please welcome to that also um there will be some program in English and if we can have some kind of a maybe Global project or something uh to fund this English English program then we’ll have more and more uh English uh program there too so um and we are more and more uh like to we more and more like to think that we are sort of um the link between researchers and schools so for the uh last uh years we’ve had quite many projects on nature obser observation and the citizen science and there will be a whole um completely new uh section for those materials or the nature observation in MAA in hopefully in the near future yeah I think and and then um I think for the the main like the most important thing for this project is that uh we also develop this quality of Nature and Environmental Education activities through uh certification and audit system which I’m going to tell you a little bit so uh uh our uh Network consist of uh uh three types of members so there are this trial member who um they don’t um meet all the criterias yet but they can be uh on trial for two years and then like the very basic level is these activity centers who also don’t fit all the criteria criterias but they have some activities for these uh children and young uh group of young people and children and then the like highest um uh base of this uh criteria is this Development Center like uh environmental School B are are one of those and they meet all the criterias in the system and they also have some training for the teachers and then they develop uh environmental educational Pro uh programs and materials have different kind of uh uh projects to uh develop Environmental Education in Finland yes and this um auditing system consists of three steps which you can read There are they like the most important parts of the uh auditing system it is self evaluation then self evaluation that the center is uh giving giving and they uh fill some forms beforehand and then uh there is a be review or the auditing in the center and then there a joint discussion with the beer Center so and this um um this uh auditing happens on the spot in the center and it’s also always um joint discussion between two or three centers so we are not uh doing this auditing from the from the association but the centers are doing it h but I think and the most important or the purpose of this audit is to support and diversify the work of the network centers and of course to maintain the quality requirements and in these joint discussions this centers get or receive feedback on their activities and then they can share good act good practices uh one of the like quite recent change in this system is that nowadays uh we audit from the association of office we audit every new center that wants to join this uh Network because this uh certification is valid for 3 years and then there’s an audit auditing every after every uh two years so for the new members it’s easier that we audit them right away when they join this network so they don’t have to wait for two years and then we also sort of um like there was a distrust and um task earlier so I think we can uh sort of uh maintain this trust and quality so that we can make sure that these new centers they fit these criterias so before this audit uh these centers they do uh give uh introduction for these uh for these uh programs they have and they make this self avaluation and then uh in this uh peer auditing um events there is these two and three centers who are OBS observing each others and then they give a um feedback and uh have a joint discussion and then uh there’s also always some kind of a self-development part of the of the auditing then they make good document documentations and then they uh send this documentation for for uh Us in the association and then we also after all every uh AIT um session we also give some feedback and um for the centers yes and that’s pretty much it I think uh from our perspective I think we uh the most um important part is this uh joint discussion and I think all the centers even that one who is auditing the other they always get some good ideas and they always get some uh uh materials to develop in the their own uh organization so it’s it’s good this a join um conversation yes thank you very much um before we’ll go to takeaways I just want to com uh comment um from Estonian side so Johanna was telling you about the so-called first layer that we focused on today was uh quality assurance on the level of organization it was very interesting with during this project to go there to Finland and to see how they’re doing the auditing So within this project our uh team went to Finland to kind of uh to the audit for them kind of like we played it through so we uh we got all the auditing forms that uh they have we will trans we have translated them in English and we will will provide those to you at the end of this webinar as well so this might help you to maintain the quality of the organizational level as well but from Estonian side the Environmental Education quality system the national level system will be established on the basis of the Environmental Education and the warness action plan two thou 2023 to 2025 it’s a guidelines and the construction of the whole system is led by the Estonian Environmental Education Association um unfortunately I Sal who was part of this uh Pro uh project uh couldn’t be here today to explain this to you but I will do my best with my colleagues to give you the overview later on too and they collaborate with uh the ministry of climate and the Ministry of Education and research and in Estonia it is funded or supported by the environmental investment center so the environmental investment center is a unit that actually provides fundings to organizations um so far also for schools to apply um for programs so they could go with school classes to different centers to um help them to reach the things in curriculum but the Estonian whole quality assurance systems is also uh consisting of three parts uh we started from the education centers part like the organization level and this is still needed uh to develop in Estonia so we haven’t developed it yet and it’s in process that’s why it was so important and so good to learn from Finish because they already have the auditing system they already do the pre previews and it was so uh good to learn from them we will talk more about the other three parts and three layers uh uh from Estonia in the next rounds as well but from Estonian side this layer organization is yet to develop and this is why this project was very very necessary thank you yes so hello everybody my name is minan and and I come from environmental School Pulu uh and um I was asked to to give a little comment here about the organization layer as as well so yes uh as uh as Ketty and Johanna told uh already earlier so we have visited each other in this project and and the estonians came to Finland and and they especially looked to our system the the organization level and the the peer review and here are some of the takeaways that that uh we like uh mutually together we we found out uh that that are really uh like important uh lessons that we got out of this uh exercise so uh the maybe as as first the understanding that that uh that there is a great need uh for quality assurance in in Environmental Education uh we do need common guidelines uh to to establish clear and measurable and aable uh criteria in Environmental Education I think uh that especially it’s important to have this open discussion about the quality criteria so that everybody knows that what is expected uh uh of of the Environmental Education and and how the criteria is met in practice uh so I think uh this this kind of open discussion is is is very welcome and uh the common objective is of course to to ensure that there is a good quality in the environment and education and also that we are able to talk uh and share uh what is achieved through Environmental Education and now uh now that uh there are economical challenges at least in Finland with the financing of Environmental Education so it’s more and more important to be able to talk about the results that we can achieve through Environmental Education uh the second point I would like to make is the um uh the the peer reviews uh well in in general peer reviews can be understood as processes where where the the accountability and and the the results are like the important things to find out uh but but also I would really like to emphasize here the learning part because that’s what we found out here that the learning the mutual learning between uh organization is the key here so in these peer reviews that that L at does and we have also uh been part of the the uh official uh peer review process uh so both parties that are in um participating in the review uh they have the opportunity to grow and improve through the experience and and then of course also when when we share these results to the members of the Luca Network so everybody there has the possibility to learn uh about the good and best practices the Lessons Learned but also about the Mi mistakes and failures that maybe were done somewhere some in some part of the process so so really uh I would like to emphasize that peer review should be seen as a as a learning process and not like uh uh so much about like controlling or checking like did you do everything right it’s it’s more like about this uh how was uh the the process and the experience and what what can we do better now uh in the future uh then uh as Ketty also mentioned I would like that Erasmus Plus project has has been a great experience uh and we recommend it uh for all the associations uh or organizations that have the possibility to participate in Erasmus Plus because uh as we have noticed that the evaluation processes at the moment are quite different still in in uh Finland and Estonia but that has really enabled like great learning because uh and and they are like um uh uh those processes they support each other because they are different but uh like Estonia has covered some parts and Finland has covered other parts so when we put all these parts together then uh really we can have a really comprehensive uh system of quality assurance and this has been really great uh and the project has given us the opportunity to understand better uh different ways of thinking and different uh processes in in these countries and and we have also had so much fun visiting each other uh really uh it has been really great so thank you already for that thank you Min and I see that Johanna is uh wanting to say something so go ahead yes there’s a there’s a one uh point of view that I would like to add for this first part is that uh uh also we have some kind of a qualification system for uh Environmental Education or the environmental educational materials or programs then um it’s um more visible for teachers and Educators uh that they know that what we are talking about when we are talking about the Environmental Education uh so I think that uh that is a that is one good U perspection for this U for this um uh evaluation evaluation or system so um so that but there are certain um certain uh qualities qualities in Environmental Education so yes thank you Johanna you’re quite right and next we can move on to Layer Two which is the program layer and you already already heard some some things about the Finish system and a in of the um programs as well and uh so the next I think the main emphasis will be on Estonian side where we will hear about cloudberry label for example and quality programs in Estonia and then you will hear about the new brand new Circle economy programs that are uh developed uh during this project and I have to say that they are great we have uh seen this in in D nature house and uh I think they are great use for all the Educators but go ahead anel thank you very much and uh hello I am an from dark nature house and I will give a short overview about environmental education programs descriptions quality evaluation as part of Environmental Education quality system in Estonia now and it started four years ago and actually in this process program themselves are not evaluated as uh the prayer review was in Finland we actually don’t visit see the programs but it focus on the program descriptions in open internet Environmental Education portal um so high quality program in this system the program description provides sufficient information about the program and whether it is suitable for delivering effective Environmental Education activities in interest to Learners and also School teachers who decide to use nonformal education programs as part of learning process um and uh the quality to criteria of descriptions of uh these programs uh developed in cooperation with Estonian Environmental Education experts and it includes including School teachers uh program facilitators themselves learning psychology experts for and uh other interest part also and it was quite long process with several seminars and uh me meetings and open discussions but somehow they are now done the criteria and um uh it uh uh the system um the aim is to help program designers and facilitators um themselves to design programs to self assess um uh their programs and also identify areas to Improvement uh the the guide to make descriptions and also evaluation of description focuses on key elements of learning program uh which are important for the quality such as objectives content and methodology learning environment facilitate this background and uh also the analyzis of results of feedback um and uh it also helps uh School teachers to choose programs and make decisions what we need what they really need and expect what kind information is helping them to decide does the nonformal educational program support their work in school and um in Estonia it also help to get founding find Financial Resources to participate with students in these nonformal programs um because um um the activities are supported by environmental investment center also local municipalities and other sources and um more and more environmental investment center prefer uh supporting programs with this quality label um so so it gets more and more important in this way also and uh the Environmental Education portal you see here in in the slide also is the main information channel of Estonia for teachers to find out about the environmental education programs on offer and the quality of the program description is also assessed or evaluated on the basis in the same basis on the information published there in this portal and it is important that the information used in the basis of uh this quality evaluation is exactly the same what the teachers sees it it seems it is like the promise to teacher that they what they they will see and meet if they they get it this this information actually in this portal there are about um 1,660 different Environmental Education programs in off and now and uh it from about 188 different organizations with different backgrounds and size nature schools centers museums non-governmental organizations farms and so on so it’s quite a lot uh a big amount and this quality label maybe helps also to decide and to choose from these huge amount of different uh programs so about the label this um uh quality label cloudberry or also we call it uh a wellth thought out program or welld designed program uh and it is awarded to do uh description uh for a program that meets the quality criteria and I will introduce the criteria a bit later the but the cloudberry has been Chen as a symbol of quality label um maybe because it was it is is a very uh tasty but a bit unique Berry which is growing in Estonia also this very quality ber indeed and award of the label is organized by the Estonian Environmental Education Association so as all the quality system is quite a lot um dealing with and it started in 2 20 and uh this uh descriptions evaluation period is every year in autum from September till November it is actually going right now in in Estonia and the uh guide for and the criteria uh and also the labeled or quality labeled programs uh you can also find in this uh Association web page so they they are here the aing of the label is decided by the panel of external evaluations who analyze the descriptions uh on the this criteria and application for and use of a label is voluntary for environmental U education providers and it means actually that it is okay you you you can offer programs without the label but uh if you get it the cloudberry quality label it give you some uh benefits for example to use a label to promote the pro program and um um this um also if you don’t get this uh label um and your program does not meet the requirements you can be submitted for evaluation after minimum one year so next year again and it always possible to improve your program and also the descriptions uh and um maybe this fact that uh until August this year 1, 318 programs description have been evaluated and uh 800 of them have been have got this uh quality cloudberry label so and this label if you get it is valid for 5 years and in this period you may do some changes in programs up up to maybe 30% uh to improve them so and of course you can adjust the program every time depending from students and teachers special needs the flexibility remains but after 5 years new evaluation for description is needed if you uh and to renew this quality label so you have to check uh don’t your information uh adequate and and can can do other things also um is it Okay I uh read a comment that you had a question actually so the question from K Wiman is how well the label is known among schools and teachers in Estonia and how long have you been used the label okay uh as I said we we use it for five four years we started in 2020 so uh now the first five period will be um ending soon and uh uh I think uh because this information is quite a lot in this um uh in this um educational environmental educational portal then I I I think that teachers know it’s quite well but they of course can use also without this label U so so it is not um like um you you can do your choice freely if you so but but it gives this label gives some um some Mark that you really have fought your things what you do depending uh um that you really think uh how to connect it with curriculum is it a place indeed and I I will talk about this I don’t know was it the answer I hope that okay but I think it’s it is the description uh quality criteria uh I just briefly okay it’s good it’s answer was given yeah that uh the main things what uh uh in this evalation um are looking for uh take into account uh these are at first brief description and general information which provides uh information for all interested parties both the teachers participating students and the parents so if it’s well-designed program um uh and its name and short description of the program uh gives you clear overview of the subject what will be done the target group is describe School level age language in use recommended group size uh also the duration of the program and suitable time of the program are indicated and uh where the learning prog program will take place outdoor or indoor Center School hiking uh and also specific characteristics if needed uh maybe narrow stairs March area or something like that and uh also the necessary equipment does students need to take something with them robers sandwiches or something else uh the objectives for a learning program are very very important and in go good description the learner centered and clearly formulated learning outcomes uh to be achieved by the end of a program our listed uh knowledge skills and attitudes according to a Target group also it’s very important that it is suitable for age group uh the links with the national curriculum and are clearly indicating that also the links with sustainable development and uh development has been pointed out and it’s also uh more and more important that we see it in also in this description as we talk about the environmental education programs also the contented methology uh learning program uh this for forms the main part of a program of document and um um the high quality description um uh we see that the choosing methodology of is fit to purpose and to Target group Active Learning methods are used and materials and resources um uh are appropriate to the methodology also and um and also that are it is suff sufficient quantities of the number of students that they everybody have some um if needed uh the content of a program to the development of environmental responsibility values and behavior and the content is science-based and also that in good program will be end in the end the summary some kind of thing that you can see that all what you wanted to do and what students really got from this program and um uh also learning environment is very important important and we want to see in this uh description that the learning environment and the spef specifities support uh the um program objectives that it is necessary to to use exactly this kind of environment and uh uh we are looking for description uh that about the learning environment safy and also opportunities or LA opportunities for students with special needs uh can they can they take part of it or not or as it some some things we have to talk beforehand and the five part is facilitate and teach and in good description is very good to find names and educational backgrounds competency and experience of the persons who will imp implement the program and also it’s good to know expectation of the ACC companying teacher before during and after the program and evaluation and feedback also is uh uh some some sort of description what uh uh go description of the program will indicate whether and how the center will cooperate with the school uh before program and uh when when and how feedback of a learning program will be sort out so you can also take in account and improve your program so that is about the criteria and um and they are all um in in this uh uh internet and portal and also um maybe if if interested it is also translated so so maybe K can say is it possible to to get them in more specifically and the I am ending this good news that uh in the this during this project we in D nature house we made designed two new uh uh programs and uh we just not very long ago uh understood or we we get the information that they have bought these uh cloudberry labels number 802 and 801 and we will we will see now about these programs a bit I will uh introduce the first uh program that was developed during this project and I was like the head of the team and uh this program is meant for 79th graders it is like third School level in Estonia and the name of the program is our full we leav a footprint let’s talk about the circle economy so during this program students explored the principles of circular economy through focusing on their own shoes as these are everyday necessity in Estonian climate and the inspiration came actually from the study visit to Finland where we tested out the circle economy program about mobile phones and we really love the idea that to use something that students already have and they have to use in everyday life so the students during this program look for different ways to use the resources more efficiently and how to reduce the waste uh both through personal choices as consumers but also in different levels through food wear life cycle for example production uh uh some um uh design process or also utilization and uh this school program is science based and we renew the information accordingly and it really supports the cross subject integration because we try to get the students to use the previous knowledges that they have obtained from these different subjects in this picture you can some see some visuals that our program is based on and uh this picture was actually taken in August during UNESCO Association School Network Conference where we asked the teachers to give us some input and feedback and tested out some program elements and you can see that I have one visual world three times in this table because some times it is quite challenging to translate the scientific info in the terms that uh are used in curriculums and in here you can see the uh testing of the first part of the program where the students map out their own basic needs that humans need need for good life and we use the mlo pyramid for that and the students learn about the muslo pyramid in sixth grade in human needs needs and uh it really uh implements their previous knowledges in new context and then we uh give them opportunity to compare the basic needs of the humans with the production of material goods and we used the plat infographic for that and the students can see that our own needs are actually in competition with the production of food work because uh we are using also the fresh water the land for everyday production of the materials and uh everyday items and the students have learned actually about the biodiversity the air pollution the addess water problems previous classes and in here you have the end result uh it is a model of circular economy that students construct themselves and in the end uh in the center you see some food word that we also uh offer them to add uh in case study uh to bring on the table monom material examples for sample cloths that are made out of wood but also food wear that is meant only for onetime use like Hotel slippers and uh the students come up with their own proposals how they can uh change the linear economy into more circular one uh through this case study about Everyday Food work that we have and uh this program we also can give in English because it is very Universal topic all over the globe and you are always welcome to uh visit us and we can also give you this program in English and if you have any questions then you are welcome to uh contact us and uh this planetary pound is visual that we have in here is also linked because it is open resource and you can also use it in your own everyday work and now I will give the microphone to Lina who will introduce the next [Music] program hello it is uh really nice to be here I’m Lena n from T nature house and [Music] I’m I’m the study program facilitator and um uh this sorry it was uh too much and um the name is could the circular economy be the solution and and it is for 10th to 12 rades and uh as an already said um it is uh uh linked with uh with School curriculum and program is science based and uh it was really um really enjoyable to be in Finland and uh to learn from your acknowledges and Al and then we um uh came back and in summer time we uh we created our own program and um I think the collaboration is uh the key word in that program because uh because our students also collaborate a lot and they discuss different topics and I I guess theor collaboration uh gives uh the information uh but in that program there are four content topics at first uh the first one is mindfulness exercise then uh welcome to the planet Earth then planet Earth past present and future and there’s power in working together and um now I will give you a short overview about those uh those content topics at first uh uh we go to outside and uh then students can have opportunity to breathe a little bit and uh think about uh some kind of beautiful memor they have in in nature and uh so they discuss it by themselves and as you see here is the uh Green Green Layer or green laminated response disk and they can uh put their answers there and then share them with with other students and after that we are going inside and uh it is a mini version of our uh program as but um on the floor there is a small globe and around that you can see big um uh colored uh strings the green one as you see is orbit of nature benefits uh the red one is orbit of problems and the blue one is orbit of solutions and so they will have many tasks during the program that are related with those orbits and um and you see see the icons here and um uh those are uh the circular economy items that are also related with the program and um first they will get the um get those games schemes Graphics Graphics about word um over shoot day and they discuss what they think about the overshoot day uh here is uh for example Estonian overshoot they uh and they try to discuss what has been the problems uh and why why the graphic is like like it is at the moment and um then we talk about the goldo Zone uh and uh after that they uh put their ideas to those those worksheets again they use the red one and then they share the results to other other students and um and then there is um uh the all groups will get about 8 to 10 pictures about different uh different things for for example problems for example values uh and also Solutions but also some kind of uh natural processes in the nature and so they um try to discuss is it um is it problem or is it solution or is it um is it value and they um and after that we give a short overview how Drew those pictures about the linear linear um economy and uh to the circular economy and so um uh here you can see that there is power in working together our our great group uh who uh see the who show the program and here you can see um uh small buckets uh and and then uh the small buckets are around the globe and then then uh people are standing uh next to the blue string and it’s collaboration game with string system and the hook where the B glass working together which is a circular economy thing task bucket for each group and uh so they will get their exercises here you can see and um so there there is about 15 minutes uh to solve the problems and then afterwards to uh to share them with the group and when they have done all those sharing uh thing then then they will clean their worksheets uh those one as we see here and so it’s it’s quite symbolic you you just have to clean your own e ecological footprint and uh and you and every student will get the information that he or she is the solution for the better planet and thank you for your attention and here you can see sorry uh I have one more uh one more slide and then at the end of the program student understands the concept of Earth over over should dat recognizes ecosystem Services formulates problems in everyday life looks for solutions to environmental issues through creative and critical thinking uh understands the connections between man and enloy and um and is more favor of sustainable lifestyle and understands this sense of circular economy and thank you for your attention hey thank you so much uh anali and I and uh everyone from the uh uh T nature nature house for presenting these programs we were there in Estonia and we saw these programs uh in practice with uh with school groups and and I have to say that they were really great and we got so in inspired uh by the programs uh they are uh very very useful for the theme of circular economy and uh very well uh designed as well so uh if you have a chance to visit tartu n nature house please do go it’s a beautiful place they have such nice materials and uh such uh talented uh facilitators and Educators as well but back to the uh evaluation and assessment uh thing so what anal was talking about the the the program level uh evaluation in Estonia uh so this was uh like something new for us because uh in Finland we we have this system that we we look at the organization level but actually we don’t look so much at uh individual programs and so this program description evaluation was was totally new for us and it was very interesting and uh we actually thought that this this uh model and this template that they are using for for evaluating the programs it’s also very useful when you are designing a new uh Environmental Education Program because it uh contains all the parts that you should take into account when you’re uh designing your program so uh it if you follow this template uh it forces you to think about widely uh different aspects of the programs and the things that you should take into account when you’re uh when you’re making a new program so uh we think that also in this regard it was really really nice uh and um well one of the one of the takeaways that we we realized both both uh Estonia and Finland we we realized that uh it could be maybe a good idea to to have a peer review of the of the program as well uh so that um uh it would be seen in in in practice and in real life because now the evaluators are only seeing the program description in paper but they actually they do not go and see the the program uh in in real life or uh only sometimes they have the the opportunity but this is not like the uh the the case of all the pre programs evaluated so so we thought that this would be maybe a good idea also we got this uh another takeaway um this program description can serve as a business card uh when it’s uh published online so so it’s a good publicity for the program as well a short program description uh where you can order the programs and also uh as in Finland we have these longer transcripts of the program so the estonians thought that okay this this can be uh used as an in in uh instruction manual for the staff and and that’s how we are in Finland actually using them because we have a lot of Educators and facilitators that that have to learn the programs and then uh to use them at schools or children um um then about uh the certifications uh we have been talking about like what is the value of the the certification and and we were kind of like wondering well in land uh we don’t get certification of programs but the certification is at the organization level but but uh in both ways in certified organizations or programs we were kind of like thinking a little bit like maybe in the future if if there would be this added value for the certification or other kind of benefit uh for the program or the certifications when when we are competing of the scar scars uh resources in Environmental Education but uh this is yet to be seen but it’s it’s a possibility uh then uh the last takeaway from this program level was uh to to uh to put emphasis that uh these programs are always like these Dynamic creatures uh they are every time unique like every day that to go with the program with a new group and new students and new teachers so uh you are not going to know exactly what’s going to happen so uh here we would like to emphasize that the collaboration between the environmental educator or facilitator and the school and especially the school teacher who is ordering the class so that is really important it’s the the key factor to make uh a successful day uh in in the nature and uh with these programs so thank you those were my comments here thank you m and then we can move on to the next slide and the final layer and this is the facilitator level and we will next hear about the competency model in Estonia and about green comp the European sustainability competence frame framework but before that we want to hear you because you have been listening here quite a while so there is another question to you creativity yeah very good flexibility yeah I agree uh enthusiasm very good there yeah and more coming kindness oh this is nice really good and quite different I would say knowledge on nature and environment and competence also very good passion for nature yeah I love that Innovative also true eager to learn yes and um patience yeah that’s very good and then are more coming it’s very cute um now it’s like mixing the words a bit but there’s sense maybe sense of something or then just s very good and more coming this is very good and I think we will find all of these in our next presentation so maybe we can go ahead uh and if you want to still post something you can post that I think we will get the picture of these at the end but these are very good and very different yeah thanks a lot but we can next take the next speaker then thank you Anor uh and uh uh I am here again and I am really really glad and it’s nice to see the opinion of your characteristics and U um of competence environmental educator and I recognize that actually uh quite a lot of them uh because I participated in the development process of a competency model of Estonia facilitators and um I liked very very much eager to learn world and others skills and others also so uh uh we will uh see a bit um about this competency model in Estonia facilitat and it was created um quite not long ago and it’s now available in English also so it will give be a quite short overview and um um this translated in English and shared with this seminar casts also in public so um so I it will not take quite a lot time but um uh yeah so so the aim of this competency model is um briefly support the professional development of environmental Educators it’s a short one but U it helps uh Educators set personal development goals and identify the pathways how to achieve them so to get better and better this is we hope that it helps and uh also uh the aim is doing increase U the to to improve the social status of of environmental Educators um and instructors and facilitators and highlight the complexity of the field uh and and expectation of uh newcomers also because um it uh there are quite a lot different parts we uh we see in this uh good um good environmental educator because sometimes it feels you have to be like um very very uh powerful with uh 10 hands and U magic powers so so it’s it’s important but let’s see uh which um kind of result we got if we tried to group these different uh um uh characteristic um um the prepared model reflects the key competencies environmental Educators uh in three key domains so um and U we got three groups and the first one that uh facilitator uh creates a supportive learning environment so the the skills of organize and conduct educational program and create the conditions for for students to learn but actually the learning can take place in this program also um this uh educator is expert in the field of Nature and sustainable development that is this part that you actually know what you do in this nature part and and this environmental field and um uh and also uh it’s important that uh educator self-directed and collaborative practic the attitude and social emotional skills of the instructor as a competent professional to and all these free um um domain has free special compet competencies that specify the instructor’s activities and and other things so shortly uh we can see it by the color they are grouped and um that that that uh we we uh want that the educator is supportive of learning and motivation Learners motivation uh is very very important at it’s important part also um it’s good uh to know a lot of about deep learning and uh the development of learning skills how the um learning is taking place actually in uh learner’s head and also uh create and money maintain a safe environment and it means that both physical and emotionally uh the environment of learning it’s good if it’s safe and uh it is easier to learn than it’s safe environment also the expert of Nature and integrator sustainable development principles and uh in this part the national curriculum is also taking uh the learning program is is important to to know what they are learning for school also about the teams and answer Same by by herself or his uh it’s good if the um environmental educator is um be environmental Val values so actually that that take please behave as I as I act not only as I say it’s it’s big but and also the flexible professional and self-development orientated learner it means that you have to learn all the time because information is information is changing and uh science is not the fixed thing and and uh and your this your own things what you you can do it how you do it’s always to good to learn more and more through all the all your life actually and uh it’s it’s important also the social emotional skills to uh to to PR to to know as deal with your own emotions and also what children emotions so it it is very important to to make also part of this safy for yourself and your students also and the cooperation part is very important that the educator want to to do cooperation very different level with students with colleagues with uh networks and so on uh but as it is in in uh you you will read it by yourself if you are interested so I don’t speak about it anymore this is one part of this uh facilitator or this Educators level um thing we do in Estonia uh on this uh by basis on the competency model the web P based self-development tool has all uh has also been created uh to support uh this uh facilitator self-development and learning and the Prototype is uh done it’s it’s quite and also tested but it’s not uh uh ready uh for public publicly available and useful we hope it get ready next year and and uh and maybe some some words about it also uh this this tool actually consists real sto life stories uh about the different programs and uh this uh possible solutions and experts uh and also experts evaluation for this solution and situations so so it’s uh actually tool to understand uh what I do and why I do this and um in the same time it’s self analyis and self-development Tool so you uh so it you can’t just make some two points three points or answer some questions you have really to take time to to do this and uh uh this U use of this tool is already learning process so so we we did this is done in such a way that you you you really have to uh learn by yourself and and it takes time it’s a bit hard always to learn something and uh results uh are visible only to a self analy is yourself or himself and uh this uh this is uh um I think it’s very important and self analysis tool measures the aspects that support learning you will know if and how much you are currently taking them into account in your work and you will be able to guide your own development so so you are you are responsible for your uh uh for your steps to to involve and uh and to get better by yourself so me so and also the to support it also the educational materials will be devop will be developed and they are also also ended and we hope that it will be um possible to to use them also in in this uh next uh um spring so so and they are all linked with this uh competency tool competency model and uh and this educational materials that all support each other so I have to say that we were quite excited about in well learning about your system and this competen model for the facilitators and also um about um the the learning support for for this that you are um developing uh we don’t have this same kind of approach as such in Finland so this is certainly something that uh I know we are thinking at the moment that should be worth um maybe developing further and actually I could um uh point out an other idea that we also came up because this um European sustainability competence framework is also something that we didn’t really uh look within this project but um this is also a framework um that um lists competencies that a learner should acquire to um to be able to you know um live sustainably or to promote the sustainability so this is very much related to also um to the well it can be seen as um uh the competencies for the facilitators also but also for the Learners so to some extent um uh well at least I’m wondering is this some maybe something that um we should consider and learn study more in a uh a possible future uh project would this add a fourth layer maybe to our approach or is it something that could be um like intercorporate to the layers that we already have here so um this um kind of Rises many questions and uh as we have already learned a lot uh with this cooperation so um at least I would be very interested in uh planning some future future projects also to uh continue these um these cooperations and maybe look to some some new um new layers or approaches too so the here are the biggest takeaways from third layer but uh because we have only one minute left I will just point out one and I think it’s um this one utilize training opportunities to keep informed and updated with the latest practices in your Environmental Education I think that’s the the the biggest one and you will have these materials later so you can maybe take a closer look yes International cooperation that’s very good and very needed and also cooperation cooperation between organizations very good and personal devel development and so on I will get give the the mic to KY so you can comment and thank you very much yes I am looking at the the takeaways and uh some of the takeaways might come later when we have processed what we actually heard today because the information it’s uh quite a lot to take in and um you can also write your ideas and your um contacts in the chat box if you would like to um continue some discussions you have more um um comments but I will let you know that you will receive from us the comprehensive final report that we will still add some information because from this um event that we are here today we might have some more great ideas coming so we would like to add them to the final report and that will be in English it’s a quite long report 40 pages but you can pick what you need and we have provided everything that we talked about today in English for you so there will be templates there will be guidelines there will be description of the programs some checklists and also some um uh tips on how to give uh constructive feedback for example also you will receive the recording of This webinar and we will also put in there a little survey uh to ask about uh if you have some ideas later on because the time is limited we uh do not want to take too much time from you but we still wanted to offer a opportunity now uh when pin puts on the next slide um this is the end of this webinar but since you’re here you have your thoughts maybe some new ideas to collaborate um since it’s not too much people we will not uh break into different rooms but you are welcome to turn on your uh microphones now and you can ask questions we have some room to chat if you are in a hurry that’s okay uh you can contact us later uh be letting and put on the next slide you can uh take a picture of our context here um and uh just uh yes thank you very much for uh taking part and participating uh giving your ideas hopefully you got some tools uh taken away from this some ideas and um please be Fe free to turn on your um microphone to say something about for today or just a comment or just goodbye
