Targeting environmental education – conference in Lithuania
On March 24, on the eve of Earth Hour, a conference “Environmental education: from theory to practice” was held at the representative office of the European Commission in Lithuania. During it, representatives of various organizations shared experiences and initiatives that contribute to rising awareness of students and adults and deepening their knowledge on climate change, biodiversity, waste and other environmental issues.
“It is clear that various initiatives are taking place in Lithuania, on the other hand, teachers and educators still lack help in improving and ensuring quality at environmental education process,” – says Martynas Norbutas, head of the Lithuanian Youth Center, who organized the conference.
The conference was opened by the head of the European Commission’s representation in Lithuania, Marius Vaščega, who presented the importance of the Green Deal to Europe.
During the event, the representative from Vilnius University of Applied Sciences, dr. Gražina Palaitytė presented how students are encouraged behave responsibly by ensuring respect for the environment. Public relations specialist of the State Protected Areas Service, Diana Rakauskaitė, spoke about the activities taking place in nature schools and invited teachers to take advantage of the introductory lessons organized there.
The head of the Lithuanian Youth Center, Martynas Norbutas, presented the Erasmus+ “Recycling of waste with handicrafts” project, talked about how society perceives climate change and what fundamental mistakes are made by educators who organize seminars on environmental topics.
The Center for Informal Education of Lithuanian Students introduced the participants to the project “Plastic Pirates – Forward Europe”, which encourages the involvement of citizens in scientific activities, develops environmental awareness and strives to reduce the negative impact on the environment.
The representative office of the European Commission in Lithuania presented the ongoing initiatives. Planting trees, efforts to make fast fashion unfashionable, cleaning the shores of lakes and rivers, promoting the use of renewable resources, “European Green Course Team” initiatives, Europe direct network activities – these are only a small part of what the European Commission is doing in Europe and Lithuania.
Agnė Prišinskaitė, a volunteer of the Social Investment Management Center, spoke about climate communication. She gave specific advice on what should be done to make the public interested and understand the process of combating climate change more easily.
Andrius Glušakovs told about the unique “Zero waste fest” festival and its development. He emphasized that the music industry also has opportunities to contribute to the preservation of the environment.
Milda Paukštė, director of VšĮ “I have an idea” and an artist revealed how jeans can be used in the education process about climate change and environmental protection.
Milglė Makuskaitė-Survilė, founder of “Planet positive” spoke about the importance of CO2 measurements and the possibilities for schools. She said that monitoring the CO2 footprint helps to understand the role of each person in the fight against climate change and encourage the school community to participate in joint initiatives.
The video recording of the event in Lithuanian language can be found there – https://fb.watch/jCqaJ1athY/ . Reports and training materials are available there- https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Nh_i9IVMdt4RWaVfFNMgMxvipLdv1rQF?usp=sharing .
This event was partially financed by the European Union through the implementation of the Erasmus+ project “Recycling of waste with handicrafts”. Views and opinions expressed at the conference are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.