Mid-May, along with Tiia Jõgi, Sille Lapp, and Erik Riige, we participated in a project meeting held in Espoo, Finland. The aim was to develop sustainability-themed educational projects.
The three-day meeting focused primarily on face-to-face collaboration among teachers.
For example, projects were developed to support the elderly using 3D-printed items, organizing recycling sales, introducing students to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and more.
The meeting, organized as part of the Erasmus+ cooperation project VET Schools Doing Green, also discussed skills in future literacy and future-thinking, as well as developments in sustainability in Finland and elsewhere.
It was noted that young people often have a very pessimistic view of the future and do not see their potential to make a difference. The Finnish development agency SITRA has created educational materials and questionnaires to help young people see how they can impact their own and others' futures.
Two experts from outside the hosting Live vocational school also spoke. A representative from the Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority (HSY) discussed how waste produced by the residents and businesses of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Kirkkonummi is recycled, and what happens to the ash and slag from the Vantaa waste incineration plant. In Espoo, there is a former landfill covering more than 200 hectares where various companies and startups produce soil, biogas, etc., from waste.
Katariina Mustonen from SYKLI Environmental College talked about how our planet can regenerate itself in 250,000 years, even if humanity has perished. Thus, sustainability primarily concerns humankind. Currently, climate change is experienced differently in various regions: in Finland, it snows in May, Central Europe faces frequent floods, and southern regions experience droughts.
Finnish project partners noted that Katariina is a sought-after speaker. She has been involved in creating the sustainability roadmap for Finnish vocational schoolslink opens on new page and the UNESCO Greening Education Partnershiplink opens on new page.
We will pilot the projects being developed in the next school year. The next staff week for the VET SDGs project is planned at our school in early October.
