Beware Kids University and Comic Book
The educational activity for pupils was inaugurated with the realisation of the first online version of the ‘BEWARE Kids University‘ (May 2020) and the presentation of the BEWARE Comic Book (January 2021) involving primary and secondary schools in Santorso and Marano Vicentino. The Comic Book was widely disseminated and read by both teachers and students, receiving enthusiastic feedback. In fact, some of the students who participated in the presentation of the comic strip were given the task of imagining a sequel or an alternative ending to the comic strip story.
Starting from March 2021, a comprehensive educational process was initiated as the Municipalities of Santorso and Marano Vicentino, in synergy with the Consortium, designed and organised innovative proposals for the primary and secondary schools of the territories in order to raise awareness and generate further knowledge and sensitivity on climate change, its effects on the hydrological cycle and the main adaptation and mitigation measures. To this end, a series of initiatives addressed to primary schools (classes III, IV and V) and lower secondary schools have been planned through the adoption of innovative digital tools by means of workshops, online laboratories, field trips, guided tours and so on. A comprehensive educational project was developed and shared with schools in the territories.
Activities for the educational community (teachers, pupils, students, parents and families in general)
The Municipalities of Santorso and Marano Vicentino with the collaboration of the project partners and with the support of two cooperatives have designed and organized innovative proposals for the primary and secondary schools of the territories in order to raise awareness and generate further knowledge and sensitivity on climate change, its effects on the hydrological cycle and the main adaptation and mitigation measures. To this purpose, a series of initiatives aimed at primary schools (classes III, IV and V) and secondary schools have been designed thanks to the adoption of innovative digital tools through workshops, online laboratories, visits on the territory, guided tours and so on. A complete teaching project has been developed and shared with the schools of the territories.
As regards the municipality of Santorso, the design and realization of the activities for the educational communities has been externalized to the Ecotopia Cooperative which since 1993 works in the field of Environmental Education and Animation. Ecotopia is formed by environmental guides, qualified personnel with specific knowledge and skills related to each activity collaborating with public bodies (schools, municipalities, mountain communities etc.) and with private entities with multi-year programs or individual activities.
On the other hand the municipality of Marano Vicentino, the management and carrying out of educational activities have been entrusted to the Biosphaera Cooperative, a social cooperative active since 2006 in the tourism sector, scientific education, services for the territory and tourism. The staff is made up of environmental guides and educational operators, who deal with dissemination and education on environmental and cultural issues, planning and setting up exhibitions, itineraries, itineraries or didactic areas, accompanying direct knowledge of the territory, organization of tourist products, interventions in schools of all levels, implementation of information and awareness campaigns.
In addition to that, the Cooperatives, in November 2021, were involved in an afternoon of training, carried out by TESAF, on the Life Beware project and the interventions.
The teaching proposal included a series of environmental education initiatives, such as:
- “Beyond the water cycle”: laboratory on the integrated water cycle. With the help of Ozobot, an educational robot capable of moving and reacting on physical and digital surfaces, pupils will create a dynamic path to understand the importance of permeable soil;
- “Changing water”: laboratory for secondary school. Starting from a role-playing game, the students will deepen the concept of the Anthropocene and then think together about the climate emergency and the most effective ways of managing water, through a simulation of the sponge-city and the waterproof-city.
- Sand Box and interactive exhibition: these two tools, set up at school, will allow the creation of a unique environment in which involvement and learning will be the fundamental ingredients for investigating Beware’s themes. The exhibition consists of a series of panels designed to be easily transferable to multiple locations, even in the post-project phase. The sand box allows an interactive and cutting-edge technological approach to understand the active processes in a territory.