REFE – Reducing Ecological Footprints through Eco-Awareness

Although environmentalism is on the rise throughout Europe, consumerism and mass production are still deeply rooted in large parts of society. In Romania, two recent documents – the 5^th National Report on the Convention of Biological Diversity and the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) – emphasise the need for more sustainable lifestyles. Both identify education and awareness raising among youth as key approaches in this regard. 

REFE complied with this through the development eight products that can be incorporated into Romania’s educational system. These supported the adjustment of the school system to the priorities of the 5th National Report on the Convention of Biological Diversity and the NSDS. The products consisted of the following: a tool to measure the ecological footprint; a planning guide for an educational summer camp on ecological footprints; a documentary; a grade-6 curriculum, teaching material; a theatre script; e-learning modules; a report. The products provided young people in Romania with the fundamentals of ecological thinking and with practical options to make their lifestyles more sustainable. REFE ensured to monitor all products throughout the project life cycle and adjusted them as needed. Translation into multiple languages makes them accessible to and usable by a broad audience across Europe.

• The REFE team organised an Educational Summer Camp on Sustainability in Breb with 20 young people between the ages of 12 and 22. Before it started the participants tested the measurement of their ecological footprint, so they see the results and impact of the program afterwards in their daily life back in the cities. By this REFE managed to motivate the children to take environmental issues seriously. They learned about alternative and resourceless ways of living. The entire experience can be seen on the REFE Youtube channel, as it is the base of the documentary, 4 to 1 Earths - an Adventure in Ecology. 

• In order to see in what extent REFE raised awareness of children on the sustainability topic, an auxiliary workbook was made, along with other materials. After the workbook was ready, the project organised a training session with teachers with the focus to familiarise them with the project, the teaching material and the auxiliary material made especially for students. 46 teachers from 5 schools were trained and 223 students were involved in the training. The Ministry of Education, National Centre for Policy and Evaluation in Education approved the REFE project auxiliary material. The approval results are available at the following link: https://rocnee.eu/index.php/auxiliare-didactice/rezultatele-evaluarii-auxiliarelor-didactice-depuse-in-sesiunea-iulie-2022.