The horizontal priority of the project is Environmental and Climate goals and it addresses the topics of Environment and climate change, international relations and cooperation, development cooperation and social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions. It builds on a previous Erasmus+KA2 project (“Routes to Outdoor Oriented Teaching and Sustainability”) and aims to further raise environmental awareness and to promote behavioral changes towards a more sustainable way of living mainly in lines of UN Sustainable Development Goals 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production) and 13 (Climate Change). Apart from raising awareness of teachers and students about the environment in general and climate change in particular by applying critical thinking, entrepreneurship and creativity when exploring possibilities of sustainable lifestyles in harmony with nature, the project will focus on enabling the participants’ behavioral changes in environmentally-significant every day activities by creating, testing and carrying out innovative practices to prepare students and teachers to become true factors of change (by reducing energy use and waste, contributing to recycling, reusing things, opting for sustainable food and mobility choices) thus also acting as a catalyst for change in their family and the wider community. Four of the partner schools have worked together on Erasmus+ KA2 programs before on a variety of sustainability issues and the fifth school is new to the partnership with a keen interest in environmental matters. The project will involve a large number of teachers and students (aged 15-19), at least sixteen of whom will participate in the Learning Activities in the partner schools during the project. These Activities will address a variety of sustainability linked topics starting with raising awareness about the environmental and climate change challenge, proceeding with reusing (things and cultural capital), reducing/refusing (food) waste, optimal recycling methods and ending with consolidation on what was learnt and what was changed. Various project activities will take place in partner schools as well, such as classroom work on various subjects linked to the topic, interdisciplinary lessons and projects and project-related field trips. More specifically, teachers and students will train themselves on the concepts of sustainability and increase their knowledge on climate change and its effects by attending lectures, seminars and webinars by different experts, watching videos, taking part in workshops, discussing new findings, exchanging views and resources also with teachers and peers from other countries. They will take part in volunteering actions to conserve and protect the environment and will be encouraged to search for different ways to behave and live sustainably. Some of the partner schools will also apply an integrated “environment/sustainability” curriculum. With different final products (made in workshops or carried out during mobilities and classroom work) such as infographics/posters/leaflets/video (statements)/games/adds/golden rules/hints for peers that will circulate/be displayed, awareness will be raised in schools and the local communities. By working in international groups and providing high-quality education, training and lifelong learning both students and teachers will improve many of their personal, social and learning key competences. While working in multicultural groups, participants will improve their intercultural competence, their communication skills in English, their knowledge about different EU countries but also their soft skills: creativity and innovation, problem solving, team working, critical thinking, self confidence, thus becoming more open minded. Through classroom (curriculum-linked) work, projects, workshops, field trips, mobilities to partner countries, students are expected to develop green skills and consequently make better-informed consumption choices, be more mindful concerning waste generation and the 4R’s, and, finally, adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. We believe that this will shape values which are proven to be the best tool for climate change awareness and action. We expect that improved eco behavior and habits, not only of the teachers and students involved in the project but also of other stakeholders (such as families, local institutions), will become an established practice in partner schools and the local communities. After the project’s end, there will be a pool of the project materials and activities that proved to be successful and efficient for future use at partner schools and other (as materials will be published on TwinSpace, SchoolEducationGateway, World's larget lessons and Erasmus Project Results Platform), and so providing motivation for new larger or smaller scale projects on sustainability in the future thus contributing to the longer term benefits of this project.

Context/background of the project:The project was created in context with the importance of health promotion in schools along with increased environmental awareness. In 2006 the European Commission, the Council of Europe and the World Health Organization supported the establishment of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools (ENHPS). In the project we address all four key themes in the policy of health promotion in schools: nutrition, mental health, physical activity and healthy lifestyle. ObjectivesThe main objectives of the project were to interlace health promotion in schools with curricular contents, specifically regarding natural sciences and cultural heritage. Thus, with outdoor physical and intellectual activities in the field, we aimed to acquisition of knowledge and skills and at the same time to ignite interest in and recognition of the importance of one’s environment, its conservation and its value in the past, in the present and in the future. Number and type/profile of participantsThe participants of the project were teachers and pupils of the five partner schools. Around 60 pupils and 35 teachers were directly involved and participating in the short term learning and training activities. The pupils were in the age of 16-19. Three of the five schools had only girls participating, the Greek partner (which is a girls’ school), the Spanish and the Slovenian school. The Icelandic and Swedish partners had more or less equal number of boys and girls participating. The profiles of the pupils were very diverse but they had in common the motivation for experiencing different environment and cultures, hosting guests and introducing their own regions to them. Description of undertaken activitiesEach partner selected regions and hiking routes of interest in their region. Study kits were made, in which the objectives, target group, proceedings and processing of the activities were described. The activities were very diverse and with different emphasis regarding contents, but they all had in common to be outdoors or in the field. The activities included short and long hiking routes, skiing and orientation where students worked in groups, along the way or as a follow up, on subjects like geography, geology, fauna and flora, conservation, cultural heritage etc. These activities also included preparing a back pack with the proper nutrition and clothing as well as some survival strategies in case of mishaps or bad weather. Among activities were a visit to a natural and a regenerative farm where the groups had the opportunity to do some agricultural work and learn about sustainable farming. Also there were some guided visits, e.g. mines, power plants and national parks. As a follow up there were workshops in groups with discussions and conclusions.One of the activities of the project was a logo competition. Pupils of all the partner schools participated and in some schools this was integrated in the graphic arts lessons. Results and impact attainedThe results attained can be divided into three categories.A)The products of the learning activities. This category includes the learning material created by teachers and represented in standardized study kits and the routes recorded and described on the GPS application Wikiloc. B)Acquisition of students’ skills and competencies as well as increased awareness of environmental and health issues. In addition to the vast new knowledge acquired in subjects like geology, history, geography and biology, pupils got the opportunity to practice in the field their previously acquired skills in these subjects as well as in languages through written and oral communication. For many of the pupils the activities were a “first time” experience. Not only were they coming to new places but were hiking in rural areas for the first time, skiing for the first time, experiencing snow for the first time, smelling Sulphur from a hot spring for the first time and being exposed to both the beauty and the harshness of nature for the first time. C)Influence of school policy, development of teaching methods and international cooperationThe project has raised discussions in the schools and pointed the attention to the necessity of action to be a health promoting school. The project has enhanced personal and professional relations between teachers of different subjects. The nature of the project is such that it welcomes all subjects. Thus, one of the most important type of results is the inspiration and motivation for teachers to share experience, learn from others and develop their personal and professional skills. Longer term benefitsThe longer term benefits of the project concerns category C) above; the progress in school policy. Also regarding changes in awareness, lifestyle and social skills.

Reinventing Outdoors for the Education –ROUTE, is an Erasmus + project that intend to include outdoor activities into the ordinary curriculum in order to motivate students and to evolve the didactic methods in teaching about sustainability. Route aims to address the following two key EU priorities 2020; • Revising and strengthening the professional profile of the teaching professions• Improving the attainment of young people, particularly those at risk of early school leavingBy reinventing the outdoors through education we want to achieve increased knowledge regarding sustainability in the participating schools and their local society. This will be made possible through giving the classroom a broader context - situated outdoors, focusing on participating active education. This will be made possible repeatedly in this project by the commited partners.The project consists of 4 upper secondary schools; Hersby Gymnasium Sweden, Ralleio Geniko Lykeio Thileon Piraia Greece, Paide Gymnasium Estonia and Agrupamento de Escolas de Mem Martins Portugal. Each school is participating form the aspect that they bring with them knowledge about a best practice in teaching sustainability from different viewpoints; Sweden has a long history of creative outdoor activities; Greece has experiences in implementing sustainability. Estonians is excellent in youth entrepreneurship for creating sustainable businesses. Portugal has a great knowledge about the ecological impact of mankind.The purpose of the transnational project meetings are to plan the project, secure visible and qualitative results as well as validation of the project, to solve emerging problems, etc. The three joint staff events are organized for the planning of the joined project between matched teachers to teach student about sustainability. The learning activities for students are to test and share different teaching methods and to include the participating schools in best practice in outdoor activities. For the teachers we foresee this project to lead to new experiences and a new insight in pedagogical technics that can be used in their curriculum for interaction with the outdoors. The project will by introducing the outdoor activities to the students give them new ways to learn and understand their subjects. We believe that the outdoor didactics will motivate the students in their studies and that this will contribute to fewer early school leavers. The interaction between students from different countries will lead to new friendships, new ideas about future carriers, and a broaden view on future studies or new possibilities in other EU nations through the Europass. ROUTE will strive to make sustainability a part of each curriculum in school and of everyday life of the participants. To be able to make substantial changes for a sustainable environment in Europe we need to make sustainability a natural part of our thinking.