Environmental and sustainability education can become interactive and participatory through the use of innovative methods that help young people connect with nature. This is the main objective of the CREA+BIRD project, in which we took part together with universities and NGO partners from Finland, Slovenia, Italy and Romania, in a truly special place: the Škocjanski Zatok Nature Reserve, managed by DOPPS–BirdLife Slovenia.
The reserve, covering 122 hectares and located near the town of Koper (Slovenia), is home to an exceptionally rich biodiversity. In the past, however, the area was used as a dumping ground for waste. After an extensive process of restoration and conservation, in 1999 the reserve came under the management of DOPPS and was designated as a protected area. Later, a visitor centre was built, dedicated to nature conservation, research and environmental education. It provided the ideal setting for project participants to present their achievements so far and to plan the next steps.
The three-year Crea+Bird project takes an innovative approach to sustainability education. The approach is highly transdisciplinary and involves researchers, teacher trainers, local organisations and teachers from the four participating countries.
One of its distinctive features is the integration of artistic methods with scientific knowledge and cultural narratives related to the life of birds. The aim is to promote transformative change: simply transferring information is not enough to generate real awareness and concrete commitment.
So, educators from the partner countries play an essential role in this project, contributing to the development of eight educational modules. These modules will support pupils in understanding sustainable development and will provide teachers with useful tools for teaching environmental education.
The meeting was attended by teachers and educators from all levels of education, from kindergarten to university. They shared examples of good practice that they apply in teaching environmental and sustainability education.
Our colleague, Andrea Miholcsa, educator at Milvus, presented one of our activities, which we have been successfully organising for years in schools and kindergartens. Nature Detectives is an interactive game in which participants try, by following tracks and signs, to discover which track belongs to which species. In this way, they gain a better understanding of native species and the habitats in which they occur.
