The impact of climate change can’t be understated. According to the EU’s latest scientific research, the world’s climate has been experiencing unprecedented changes such as higher temperatures, intensified weather and changes to rainfall patterns, oceans and winds all over the world . These changes have resulted in huge financial burden for the EU, a negative impact on food production and - worst of all - loss of life due to extreme weather events.
In order to combat these negative impacts of the planet, the EU leaders agreed in 2019 that the EU should achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This will involved drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the European Council has adopted the European Climate Law which proposes a framework for the actions required by member states in order to achieve this ).
While the proposals within the framework are mainly targeted towards companies and organisations within the EU, it is important to also consider our actions as individuals. Small habits, such as buying second hand, repairing items rather than purchasing new ones, composting food waste and familiarising ourselves with local recycling rules can have big benefits. These behaviour changes can be referred to as circular behaviours and can help us move towards a circular economy.
Adoption of circular habits is important, but equally crucial is passing on these behaviours to the next generation.
That’s where the ACCESS project comes in.
With the main target group being elementary school level educators, the project’s goal is to help elementary school level educators integrate the teaching of circular behaviours and sustainability into their school curricula.
Project Objectives
The ACCESS project aims to provide guidance and helpful resources for teachers who educate elementary age children. These resources will aid the teachers in raise awareness about the issues caused by climate change and how individuals can integrate circular behaviours into their lives in order to do their bit to help the planet. The resources will be suitable for use in both formal and informal school curricula.
Partnerships
The ACCESS project is comprised of a team of 6 different organisations from across Europe. These organisations range from non-profits and SMEs to associations and schools, each bringing with them their unique experience and expertise. The partners are the following:
- Archivio della Memoria (AdM), Italy
- Danmar Computers, Poland
- European Learning Centre (ELC), Spain
- LernBar, Germany
- ProEduca, Czech Republic
- SBTC, Turkey
Project Outputs
The main outputs of the ACCESS project are as follows:
- Development of a micro-training program for teachers to implement the teaching of circular behaviours in their elementary school classes
- Development of the concept of micro-certification for the assessment of circular behaviour knowledge
- Provision of a tool-kit for teachers to refer to in order to teach the acquisition of circular behaviours to their students
- Creation of an easily accessible learning platforms for not just teachers, but also professionals, students and the public
