Educational project for primary schools in Lithuania about urban nature and climate resilience
Involving ideas and creative methods in the primary school curriculum to teach children about sustainable cities, architecture, and climate resilience is a fundamental investment for improving our present and future environment. The project applied research findings and a stakeholder survey, which led to the creation of a set of interactive workshops about healthy and resilient urban environments in eight primary schools around Lithuania, and a free pedagogical toolkit available nationwide.
Local
Lithuania
In 8 primary schools in Vilnius, Kaunas, Birštonas, Tauragė, Panevėžys, Visaginas and Ignalina.
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): BLUMA Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: Gintare Last name of representative: Kapociute Gender: Female Nationality: Lithuania Function: Architect, partner Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Sviliškių g. 2A-7, LT-05271 Vilnius Town: Vilnius Postal code: LT-05271 Country: Lithuania Direct Tel:+37069350856 E-mail:info@bluma.lt Website:https://bluma.lt/
Despite the growing need to develop a dialogue with communities regarding the more effective integration of nature into an urban environment, the potential of the education sector in Lithuania to introduce the growing generations to this conversation is not sufficiently explored, and the current programs of formal and informal education, especially in primary schools, lack innovative content and resources in this regard.
Our initiative Sustainable Future Cities is designed to influence the education system in Lithuania to teach children in primary schools about sustainable cities, architecture, urban nature and climate resilience using creative ideas and methods. We believe that these topics are crucial for children to learn about from an early age, and are a fundamental investment for improving our present and future environment in Lithuania and the EU.
The initiative revolves around 4 stages: a national survey of primary school teachers, interactive workshops in 8 different schools around Lithuania, including small towns and big cities, feedback interviews with teachers, and a free methodical project publication for primary school teachers, containing concise information about sustainable cities, architecture, urban nature and climate resilience and clear instructions for teachers on how to organise Sustainable Future Cities workshop during their classes.
The workshop is split into 3 parts: an interactive lesson and a board game, specifically designed for this initiative, discussing the topics of sustainability, urban nature, architecture and climate. The second part of the workshop is located outside, where participants are encouraged to observe and appreciate the natural environment, play a nature scavenger hunt and reflect on their experiences. The last part of the workshop aims to introduce children to the profession of landscape architect, and through a design process construct their dream nature playground prototype using natural or recycled materials.
Learning in nature
Biodiversity in schools
Nature-based solutions education
Inclusive education in rural schools
Multi-disciplinary curriculum in climate change education
The initiative is exemplary, as it aims to develop and examine creative and sensory methods to involve and familiarise pupils from an early age with the topics of sustainable, healthy and resilient cities and how nature can play a critical role in helping to tackle urban environmental challenges that cities are and will be facing every day. The key objectives were:
-Introduce the primary school children to architecture, urban planning and climate change vocabulary and provide pupils with societal responsibility through interactive and inclusive methods. This is achieved through a visual introduction to topics and specially designed games inside and outside the classroom during the workshop.
-Develop activism and community spirit in primary school pupils and encourage them to create climate change initiatives in their own environment. This is achieved through the team card game about sustainable cities and reflection after each of the activities.
-Increase access to climate change education for marginalised children in the regions and rural areas of Lithuania. This is achieved by prioritising schools located in regions in Lithuania for testing the workshop methodology and by designing sensory activities that are inclusive for children with learning difficulties.
-Provide primary school teachers with easy-to-understand information and visuals in the Lithuanian language about sustainable cities and climate change that can be easily summarised to their pupils. This is achieved by creating a methodical project publication for primary school teachers with clear instructions for teachers on how to organise the Sustainable Future Cities workshop during their classes.
-Get the Lithuanian education system to respond to the climate change crisis, starting from an early age. This will be achieved by further events and discussions with teachers, publications in the press and sharing the initiative results on a podcast, a radio programme and social media.
Through a wide variety of activities during the Sustainable Future Cities workshop, children are encouraged to trust their creative abilities, act freely and spontaneously, and try as many different ways of performing tasks as possible. With the help of engaging visual materials (illustrations, maps, games), students get to know the social, cultural, historical and geographical aspects of their environment and learn to act meaningfully and responsibly in it.
One of the main objectives related to aesthetics and quality of experience was to encourage primary school pupils to develop a sense of observation and curiosity in nature. This was achieved by conducting an outdoor class with a nature scavenger hunt game. By actively observing and noticing patterns in nature and engaging all senses helped pupils to develop aesthetic sensitivity. The experiences are also explored further when students are encouraged to self-reflect on their experiences while doing all activities.
Natural playground prototype making encompassed many other objectives related to aesthetics and quality of experience such as to develop creativity, attentiveness and critical thinking. As the activity is about using natural materials and is sensory, it allows all children with various learning abilities to fully engage and participate in it with excitement and joy. This activity allows children to experience how landscapes are constructed when and apply what they experienced during the outdoor class and recreate the principles of nature-based solutions in their nature playground prototype.
These activities encourage students to learn through play and work together in group tasks, thus developing a sense of community and responsibility. Learning by doing help develop critical thinking, discipline and concentration. Practical educational activities are necessary as they give children the opportunity to do "real things" that contribute to the solution of social and environmental problems.
Project’s goal is to increase access to education for marginalised children living in rural regions of Lithuania. The workshops were organised in schools situated in small towns such as Birštonas, Ignalina and Visaginas as well as in bigger cities – Panevėžys, Kaunas and Vilnius.
During the development stage of the project, in order to better understand the current situation regarding education on environment, architecture and responsible consumption, we conducted a national survey of elementary teachers. During the quantitative survey, we tried to find out what attention is paid to the study of these topics in Lithuanian schools, what challenges teachers face, and to find solutions that would not complicate the work of teachers but would respond to today's global issues. 224 teachers from different Lithuanian municipalities participated in the survey.
The students were encouraged to prepare for the workshop by bringing in materials that they could find in their garden, nearby forest, park or other natural environment – tree leaves, branches, pebbles, seashells, sand, seeds etc., or bring in materials from their home that would be reused as part of their nature playground prototype. By encouraging students not to buy new materials, but reuse them or find them in nature, the workshop to be completely free and inclusive to all students from various financial backgrounds.
The learning materials used in the workshops (presentation, activity plans and games) will be available to all primary school teachers who want to include environmentally oriented topics, but cannot prepare suitable materials due to lack of time.
The results of the workshop demonstrated how effective well-planned individual and group creative activities can be - interviewed primary school teachers participating in the project confirmed that such workshops would help to include and explore the topics focused on architecture, climate change and the integration of nature into cities in their classes. The teachers shared that the organisation of the workshop in their school gave them more motivation to study these topics in more detail during the lessons.
The responses of most of the children who participated in the workshop were also positive, the students were happy with the variety of activities and assured that they would like to repeat similar activities. The materials and creative tasks used in the workshops also had further lasting value, as the students shared the experiences with their parents at home.
The project’s stakeholders included primary school teachers in Lithuania, primary school pupils, people working at the education department in Lithuania’s municipalities’ offices, and other experts from the fields of education, green infrastructure, climate change, urban planning and architecture.
We conducted a primary school teachers questionnaire at the beginning of the project and distributed it with the help of municipalities’ offices' education departments throughout most public and private schools in Lithuania. We received more than 250 responses from the teachers, which helped us to understand the demand for the project and shape the programme of our workshops accordingly. The municipalities will later play the role of distributing the free workshop toolkit to all schools in the regions of Lithuania.
We then selected a team of specialists who work in the field of education, green infrastructure, climate change, urban planning and architecture on the national level to provide us with their insights and recommendations for the development of the initiative and the workshop methodology.
On a local level primary school teachers and pupils from 8 schools in Lithuania were direct participants in the project. During the workshop with children, we tested the project’s methodology and adjusted the activities and presented information according to the pupil’s feedback and general response to it. We also did small conversations with the teachers before the workshop to understand their students' needs and later, after each workshop, we conducted individual feedback interviews with the same teachers. They gave us valuable insights into our methodology, which allowed us to further adapt it to suit the needs and interests of the primary school pupils.
The project is the result of a creative partnership between architects, urbanists, environmental scientists and education specialists. From the beginning of the project, a team of experts from these different disciplines was formed to ensure that the educational activities, terminology and content used in the workshops are relevant to the needs of primary education.
The main disciplines reflected in this project were education, architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning. Reflecting on the project it can be said that the disciplines have interacted together productively and creatively, supplementing and enriching each other. Architecture can provide the competencies of spatial and systemic thinking for education – it is an art field that teaches us to observe, explore and inquire about the environment around us, to look for mutual connections, and to see the totality of certain processes. It is also a field that always strives for a result or a solution, therefore it can put a strong foundation in the development of one’s determination, critical thinking and problem-solving. Lastly, architecture always goes hand in hand with creativity – it teaches us to think differently, boldly and comprehensively. This project showed that the field of education can benefit a lot from integrating such fields as architecture into the curriculum.
The innovation of this project sits in its desire to find integral ways to involve and familiarise students from an early age with the topics of sustainable, healthy and climate-resilient cities and the importance of nature in them. First of all, because the educational material of this certain topic is not adapted to primary education. Then, to ensure that these ways are as accessible and comprehensive as possible, a methodology was developed with the help of experts from various fields. Lastly, an accessible toolkit has been produced summarising the data and insights gathered during the project and containing instructions for teachers who wish to organise workshops on similar topics in their classrooms. This will allow all schools to involve and familiarise students from an early age with the topics of sustainable, healthy and climate change-resistant cities and the importance of nature in them.
The methodology and variety of disciplines used to create this project are small steps towards inclusive and integral sustainability education in primary education and we hope that this example will inspire more similar initiatives and will be replicated in different countries and contexts.
At its core, this project was intended to be replicable and accessible in as many different contexts and places as possible. In the educational workshops, such universal subjects of education as geography, art and technology, moral education, mathematics and physical education were integrated. The activities and content were tested in various contexts with different levels of urbanisation: from a small town with a population of fewer than 4000 people to urban centres of half a million population.
The results presented in the project’s toolkit form a framework for learning about environmental sustainability that can be applied in any learning context. Project`s content is applicable in both private and public schools. It is hoped that the developed tools will help children open up wider opportunities for creative thinking, thanks to which students from elementary grades can be introduced to the importance of nature in cities, the creation of healthy and climate change-resistant cities, and will help teachers prepare children to become active creators of a sustainable future.
This project began with a literature review and drew on several consultations with experts and stakeholders working in the field of education, architecture, and biodiversity.
When creating the content of the workshop and the educational methodology, the project aimed to respond to the possibilities of integration in primary education. The learning process during the workshops is organised as a unified system, without dividing educational topics into separate, unrelated parts as much as possible. Themes and issues of climate change and ecology are presented in relation to the urban planning and architectural fields. Problems are examined from the student's perspective, based on his experience and his closest surroundings - the city, home and school. The questions are related to real life, in order to actualize the topic and relate it to his real needs. Students learn to understand that the lives of people and nature are interconnected and based on certain laws.
To protect the health of our planet and ourselves, it is crucial to integrate sustainability into
our education from an early stage as possible. By teaching children to observe, appreciate and enjoy the natural and urban environment around us, as well as to understand the impact of climate change on our ecosystems, we can open up wider opportunities for more creative thinking to children and prepare them to become active creators of a sustainable future. It is also important to understand that the goal of workshops for children can be mutual education: the questions children ask and the proposed solutions can expand the usual methods of thinking about the city and climate change.
Primary education is characterised by the fact that children's perspective of seeing the world expands. As the ability to think grows, there may be anxiety about what is unhealthy, bad, and dangerous in the world. Therefore, it is at this time that it is most appropriate to develop environmental values, encourage taking the position of a person who cares about the environment, and help to understand that the lives of people and nature are interconnected and based on certain laws. Introducing concepts and activities related to cities, architecture and climate change into the educational process would be an excellent foundation in our society's journey towards a sustainable present and future.
It is also important to emphasise that this task of sustainable education should not fall solely on the shoulders of teachers and we need to involve in this process diverse experts working in the field of sustainability, who can not only participate in the lessons but also create new and engaging content. The lack of accessible content or inclusive educational tools was highlighted as one of the main barriers to sustainable education by teachers. This project supports educators in developing their knowledge and skills to teach about the climate crisis and sustainability.
The four objectives set during the project – a survey of Lithuanian teachers (quantitative survey), workshops for fourth graders in eight Lithuanian schools, interviews of teachers from eight schools (qualitative survey), and a publication for teachers created during the project - were successfully implemented.
A total of 238 Lithuanian teachers were interviewed though quantitative and qualitative surveys. The results of the surveys were integrated into the methodological material used in the workshop and are presented in the methodological publication of the project – the teacher's guide.
During the project, workshops for fourth-grade students were held both in regions and in big cities. In total, about 180 students participated in the project, and feedback from teachers and students about the workshop was shared in the final project publication.
The methodical publication summarises the data and insights collected during the project and contains theoretical material, 3 lesson plans, and other creative ideas for teachers who want to integrate the topics of climate change, ecology, landscape architecture, and sustainable cities during classes or organise special workshops dedicated to these topics.
The competencies developed for children and teachers in this project help learners develop knowledge, skills and attitudes that promote ways to think, plan and act with empathy, responsibility, and care for our planet and for public health.
This project covers all 4 main themes stated in the framework. It embodies sustainability values by prompting children to reflect on personal values and how they are connected to sustainability, as well it promotes nature and teaches to respect other species in order to restore and regenerate healthy and resilient ecosystems. By mixing topics of sustainability and architecture, the project embraces complexity in sustainability by promoting systematic and critical thinking that helps to frame problems and identify relevant solutions. To envisage sustainable futures, students are invited to reimagine what green and healthy cities should look like, as well as to explore links between different themes of sustainability. Finally, during the workshops students are encouraged to create certain nature-based solutions, in such a way exploring their individual potential for sustainability and ability to actively contribute to improving prospects for the community and the planet.
