Green with us, Green with me!
The Green Project is a initiative that focuses on creating powerful and engaging audiovisual content produced by VET student. The project highlights good sustainability practices that are being implemented in Aragonese companies, allowing students to see that global problems should be addressed locally. Through the eyes of these young and dynamic students, we see how companies are making a difference, and how we all play a role in creating a more sustainable future
Regional
Spain
Aragón
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Centro Público Integrado de Formación Profesional Los Enlaces Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: María Pilar Last name of representative: Megino Barquinero Gender: Female Nationality: Spain Function: Headmistress Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Calle Jarque de Moncayo 10 Town: Zaragoza Postal code: 50012 Country: Spain Direct Tel:+34 976 30 08 04 E-mail:director@cpilosenlaces.com Website:http://www.cpilosenlaces.com
The Green Project is an innovative initiative that aims to bridge the gap between vocational education and sustainability by creating powerful and engaging audiovisual content produced by vocational education students. The project focuses on showcasing good practices in sustainability and recycling being implemented in local Aragonese companies, allowing students to see that global problems should be addressed locally.
While there are numerous initiatives in compulsory education to teach sustainability, attention to this subject is often scarce in VET. The Green Project, iniciative of CPIFP Los Enlaces, aims to fill this gap by connecting students to the real-world applications of sustainability and showing them how it relates to their future careers. By highlighting the positive actions of these companies, the project hopes to inspire and educate the public about the importance of protecting our planet and preserving its resources for future generations.
The companies involved in the project are all based in the Aragonese region and incorporate some of the teachings of Los Enlaces. They also provide a sense of social responsibility to the project, allowing students to see the real-world impact of sustainability in their close region.
The Green Project not only teaches students about the importance of environmental sustainability, but also allows them to develop a range of soft skills, such as interdisciplinary learning, research, communication, and teamwork. It provides an opportunity for students to see sustainability as an integrated part of their future and not as something separate or distant from their profession.
Overall, The Green Project is an exciting and unique initiative that aims to educate, inspire, and empower vocational education students to take action in creating a more sustainable future. It serves as a powerful tool for bringing abstract concepts such as environmental sustainability to their future professions.
Environmental education
Vocational education
Interdisciplinary learning
Social responsibility
Professional development
1.- Promote environmental awareness and sustainable practices among vocational education students. The Green Project aims to educate students on the importance of protecting the environment and implementing sustainable practices in their future careers. Local companies are careful chosen for their good sustainability practices, so far, in the 4 visited companies: water conservation and efficient use of water resources, reduction of energy consumption through the use of renewable energy sources, promoting energy efficiency in buildings and appliances and implementing a comprehensive recycling program or promoting energy efficiency. All of the practices are linked with the fields of study of CPIFP Los Enlaces: "Image and sound", IT and "Commerce and marketing". Three videos have been created, one additional is being edited and two more in a production stage, and a set of audiovisual materials, to promote this awareness.
2.- Develop exemplary audiovisual material. The Green Project provides audiovisual contact that can be used already to show these good practices, but also targets an action plan, to enable other educational centers with different programs to incorporate a similar practice in their centers, working with their local companies and accommodate sustainability in their teaching scheme. This objective has been met so far with the creation of 4 videos and an action plan of tasks, listed in the project website.
3.- Contribute to the development of good sustainable practices in other local companies through promotion and showcasing. Ultimately, the goal is to make sustainability a core part of the operations of any company, regardless of its size, and to inspire other businesses with similar problems to follow their example, through the experiences acquired by the participating students in the center or by the good-practice videos. This objective is a long-term objetive so it is expected to be accomplished when the initiatives are copies by companies.
1.- Collaboration and creativity. The students are encouraged to work interdisciplinarily in order to approach environmental issues in a unique and effective way. For example, IT students have investigated innovative sustainable practices in energy comsumption or retail students have looked into the recycling of materials in transportation but they have to explain those targeted ideas to media students that are the ones doing the actual shooting so that the key concepts are shown. The objective is already accomplished as students work in groups, and travel in groups to make each of the videos possible.
2.- Social awareness. All contacted companies participate in the project on a non-profit basis, as the sustainability practices are well-aligned with their core values. By doing so, companies demonstrate to the students that there is an added-value in these practices beyond the economic one, and that they are not only focused on making a profit, but also on making a positive impact on society and the environment. This helps students to understand that sustainable business practices are not just a trend, but an essential part of responsible and ethical business operations. The social awareness of the companies is explained by the companies during the company visits, before the videos are shot.
3.- Solve local, see global: The Green Project is also is a way teaching the students that their actions could have a global implication and that even the smallest action may have a larger impact, specially in the working environment. By promoting this mindset, it can help students to develop a sense of personal responsibility and to become more engaged and active citizens.
1.- Accessibility and affordability. The project aims to ensure that the solutions and technologies developed are accessible and its importance should be undestood by students. Thus, all the videos include a talk and visit with company representatives to explain and discuss sustainable practices and to provide guidance on how they implemented the good-practice in their operations, together with a set of advices from companies to the students regarding sustainability
2.- Develop of soft skills. Skills like teamwork, research, resilience and communication are needed to create a successful video. By participating in the project, students have the need to work in teams from different fields of studies and, conduct research on the company and their good-practices. They also have to improve their critical thinking, constantly debating on the key aspects and discarding the irrelevant data, while improving their communication skills, all of which are important for their future careers. This can be seen in the investigation done for each of the videos and the presentations held to other students.
3.- Sense of community. Since local companies, together with students from different VET fields of studies and levels (image students are EQF-5 but the rest are EFQ-4 students), a sence of closeness and community among the students and companies involved grow. Besides, all students and companies involved are volunteers and participate on a non-profit basis.
One of the main ways in which "The Green Project" can benefit the society in general is by its main core, as it provides examples of sustainable practices that they can replicate in the future.
For example, the project has shown a business that has implemented a green energy solution using solar panels that provide both heating an electricity.
Showing that, the students have already gathered a real-world example of how sustainable practices can be implemented their work-field, or can bring that knowledge into their next position. This not only helps students gain a deeper understanding of one specific sustainable practice, but it also gives them the idea that sustainability is an asset to look for when they implement any solution.
Another way in which The Green Project benefits society is by providing businesses with access to resources that can help them replicate sustainable practices.
For example, the project shows a company that recycles their packaging in many different ways. By providing businesses with these resources, either identifying the problem or targeting possible solutions, The Green Project can help companies become more sustainable and make a positive impact on the environment.
Finally, The Green Project also has a multiplier effect on society by providing a blueprint for other educational institutions to develop similar projects.
That is, other schools can replicate the project's itinerary of implementation and adapt it to their own context, spreading the knowledge and best practices to a wider range of educational institutions and society, which can have a positive impact on the environment and the sustainability of future generations.
The Green Project is a local initiative that was developed by CPIFP Los Enlaces, a vocational training center in Zaragoza, Spain. The project was designed to promote sustainable practices in the local community and was implemented in collaboration with local companies that have shown interest and have been proactive in the process.
At the local level, the project engaged a variety of stakeholders, including students, teachers, and staff at CPIFP Los Enlaces, as well as representatives from local businesses. The students were involved in identifying good practices within the companies, and the companies themselves were actively engaged in the process, providing additional sustainable practices that they have developed but do not advertise. The local town hall of Zaragoza was also targeted as one of the organizations to study to show the IT resources in water reduction and consumption measurement.
So far, the project is local to be replicated in our center, local companies and by our students but it can be easily replicated in a national or European level.
In this project only three key disciplines were reflected in the design and implementation of the initiative: image and sound, IT, and commerce and marketing, which are the fields of study at CPIFP Los Enlaces.
A set of teachers from each of these fields came together at the beginning of the academic year to plan the project, identify the subjects and groups that would participate, and select volunteers to work on the project. Throughout the project, these representatives continued to work closely together, collaborating on tasks such as location scouting, script writing, and the involvement of students in the process.
The added value of this process is that it allows for the integration of different perspectives and expertise. The image and sound students are responsible for capturing and editing footage of the sustainable practices that are being implemented, and do the location scouting. Retail students, and IT students are in charge of the identification of sustainable practices in the companies, elaboration of the importance of each of them, writing the questions for the interview and explanation and participation in the shooting of the video.
Finally, the teachers also cooperate in the process itself, promoting the videos, showing to the rest of the center and website updates.
Overall, the collaboration between representatives from different disciplines and knowledge fields is a key factor in the success of The Green Project. By bringing together different perspectives and expertise, the project is able to achieve a greater impact and make a real difference in the local community.
The Green Project stands out as an innovative project for Vocational Education and Training (VET) students as includes an added value to labour-related competences. That is, instead of treating sustainability as a separate and unrelated topic, it is linked into the curricula as an important asset and knowledge that students are expected to acquire. This approach not only emphasizes the importance of sustainability in the workplace, but also ensures that students are equipped with the skills and knowledge to identify and implement sustainable practices in their future careers as they have seen their importance first-hand.
Another innovative aspect of The Green Project is its local approach to addressing global challenges. Rather than taking a top-down approach, the initiative focuses on the individual student and empowers them to make a difference in their own community. This approach not only addresses the specific needs and challenges of the local area, but also encourages students to take ownership of their own learning and development.
Moreover, The Green Project also stands out for its interdisciplinary approach. The cooperation and collaboration of different fields of study such as image and sound, IT, and commerce and marketing is an innovative approach in the VET education. All students are then exposed to a comprehensive and holistic understanding of sustainability and its implications for the different fields of work. This approach also allows for the integration of different perspectives and expertise, resulting in a more effective and impactful project.
The Green Project is a comprehensive initiative aimed at promoting sustainable practices in various environments, especially in the educational sector. The project can be replicated or it knowledge transferred in different ways in the educational setting, but we would like to highlight the following:
1.- Knowledge transfer can occur by observing pre-recorded videos available on the project's website, which showcase sustainable practices in various industries relevant to the students' field of study. These videos can be incorporated into the curriculum and used as a basis for class discussions and debates. Additionally, all videos are subtitled in English, so that they can be used by more teachers in their classes.
2.- The initiative can be replicated by engaging students in video production, as the project provides a roadmap and management plan for integrating sustainability into the curriculum of two professional fields. Teachers can copy this methodology and the roadmap and integrate it either as a standalone project or as a continous project development in the center, like "The Green Project" is in CPIFP Los Enlaces. The chosen scope will allows students to gain hands-on experience in sustainable practices or become ambassadors for the cause in the future.
3.- From the perspective of an educational institution, the project provides a set of informative materials on good sustainable practices that can be used by other educational institutions as promotion materials, to be shown in screens, etc.
From a business perspective, knowledge transfer can also occur by using the project's materials as a guide for implementing sustainable practices in their operations. The project's materials serve as a useful tool for companies looking to improve their environmental and social impact.
The Green Project is a project implemented using a project-based methodology. The project is integrated in CPIFP Los Enlaces as a "center project" and is led by a group of teachers from different specialties at the center, who identify the good practices to be studied each year and the companies in the area. Since the teachers are from different specialties, each one can indicate the problems that may arise and the personal, budget or materials that are needed for implementation.
With this information, a common operating schedule is developed and student groups are formed to conduct research on the selected company. The students work independently and with a high level of involvement and cooperation, which is encouraged by the center. The students also have the opportunity to visit the companies, where they interact with business owners and other students from different specialties.
The learning is centered on the student and since it includes students of three fields of study, additional soft-skills such as socialization, interdisciplinarity, and promoting an ethical and solidarity mindset are integrated in the project's life. The students also have the opportunity to produce a final product or products as part of the project, such as a video or marketing materials, which allows them to see their individual work represented (for example, through the questions they have proposed, or actually doing the presentation on the video, or the research they have conducted, or the filming and editing process).
Finally, the final video is published in the CPIFP Los Enlaces hall and uploaded to a website set up by the center, allowing students to see their work disseminated to a wider audience. This methodology allows for a hands-on approach to learning about sustainable practices, involving collaboration and critical thinking, and promoting a sense of responsibility towards the environment and society.
The Green Project identifies global problems with local solutions, from a VET perspective. So far, the students have identified 6 companies that address global sustainability problems and 3 of their solutions haven been captured in videos, each of them linking the solutions to one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The first video focuses on the use of renewable energies, specifically solar, to decrease emissions and avoid the use of fossil fuels. The company in this video is a leader in promoting sustainable energy and relies on solar energy to reduce its carbon footprint. By doing so, the students identified a significant contribution to SDG 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all.
The second video shows the reuse of pallets, currently in editing stage. The company in this video uses innovative techniques to recycle and reuse pallets, which are often discarded and end up in landfills. This initiative reduced waste and promoted sustainable practices, so the students identified an aligment with SDG 12, which aims to ensure responsible consumption and production patterns.
The third video highlights the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) in a region's life, like for example, in agriculture to promote a responsible use of water, or in a city to improve collection of city waste. This brought a rural problem to the project as in the arid regions of Aragon, water is a scarce resource. The students linked the initiative with SDG 9, aiming to foster the industry to provide more efficient resources.
The final video shows how water was purified in the city of Zaragoza, visiting the organization in charge of purifying the city's water and ensuring its safety for human consumption. By doing so, the company makes a contribution to SDG 6, which aims to ensure water sanitation for all.
The project is and will continue to grow as new sustainable good practices and companies are being studied every year.
The Green Project was successfully implemented in the previous academic year with the participation of student groups from the three professional fields of study of CPIFP Los Enlaces, and will continue to grow in the future as it is fostered by the center itself. Last year's implementation resulted in the creation of three videos, a website, and promotional materials that can be used by other educational centers. During the project, students from EQF-4 and EQF-5 made a total of 8 visits, wrote scripts, recorded multiple sequences, and edited the videos as part of their end-of-cycle project. All this work can be seen in the provided website.
In addition to the practical experience, participating companies were also recognized with a participation diploma. The project is being widely publicized through the social media channels of the center, as well as the CPIFP Los Enlaces website. This way, the impact of the project is not limited to the students and participating companies, but it is also shared with the wider community, promoting the importance of sustainability initiatives in local businesses.
Each academic year a new iteration of the project can be performed, as the already completed work last year allowed for the creation of a roadmap of activities that will be replicated in the future; for example, during this academic year, with the addition of 2 new videos in two companies in the area. At the time of writing this document, the visits to the companies have already begun and the two new videos will be presented in June 2023.
The Green project addresses directly the integration of sustainability into teaching and learning and the fields of studies of the students, and helps other educational center to promote that integration as it has already been explained in previous sections.
