Getting Higher Level Education Climate Ready

The 1st International Conference of FEE EcoCampus took place on April 26-27, 2024. The conference convened at the esteemed ESELx – Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa (Lisbon School of Education) of the Polytechnic University of Lisbon (IPL), situated in Benfica, Lisbon.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the FEE EcoCampus programme in 2023, the event highlighted the programme's remarkable growth to 18 countries globally, with 183 registered institutions, 83 of which proudly fly the prestigious Green Flag.

Organised by ABAAE and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Lisbon, the conference welcomed 140 attendees, including students, academics, facilities staff, and administrators from 15 countries. This conference was run by FEE EcoCampus, for campuses and aimed to bring together, showcase, and celebrate achievements of the many different dimensions and approaches for achieving sustainability in the higher education from around the world.

Left to right: The FEE team, Pramod Kumar Sharma, Sanskriti Menon, Olivia Copsey, Jessica Mery. and Michael John O’Mahoney

As hubs for innovation and critical thinking, universities and HEIs are important sites of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and a critical part of the UN’s Greening Education Partnership. Greening universities and HEIs requires a ‘whole-institution approach’ to ESD which encompasses not only facilities, but also research, education, governance, community engagement, and innovation.

“With twenty years of experience in running the FEE EcoCampus programme in a whole-institution approach, our network of universities, colleges and National Operators represents a vast knowledge-base in greening HEIs. This conference will be an important opportunity to explore the challenges of greening HEIs and make sure the FEE EcoCampus programme is fit for the future.”

— Sanskriti Menon, FEE Board Member

The interdisciplinary event featured over seventy research papers, interactive poster presentations, and workshops by students, academics, facilities staff, administrators, and EcoCampus national operators. Diverse faculties participated, including engineering, communications, tourism, design, and nursing, and the discussions revolved around sustainability themes such as 'From Eco-Schools to FEE EcoCampus,' 'Training and Curricula,' 'Innovation and Development,' and 'FEE EcoCampus and the Community.'

Renowned keynote speakers at the conference included:

Arjen Wals: Professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-Ecological Sustainability at Wageningen University and UNESCO Chair of Social Learning and Sustainable Development.

Júlia Seixas: Professor at NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA) specializing in Remote Sensing in Environment, Energy, and Climate Change.

Simon Wanda: Programme Specialist in the Section for Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO Headquarters, and Secretariat of the Greening Education Partnership.

The Greening Education Partnership

FEE is leading Pillar One of the Greening Education Partnership, 'Greening Schools' for UNESCO, with a goal for 2030 where "All countries will have adopted a green school accreditation scheme with at least 50% schools, colleges, and universities with green accreditation and are operating sustainably."

Thank you!

Here’s to everyone who made the first ever EcoCampus conference so special!

Celebrating the Winners of Eco-School Estonia's International Photo Competition!

In the autumn of 2023, the Estonian EcoSchools programme held an international photo competition. The competition was organised in cooperation with the “Growing with Your Food” project which is part of the activities of the 2024 European Capital of Culture Tartu.

The competition was open to children, youth and adults, and invited people to capture moments in the garden, to show others the magic and the pain of growing food. Individual photos and photo essays from educational and community gardens, as well as home gardens, were welcome. More than 1,100 photos were submitted from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Georgia, Montenegro and Wales.

The main prize in the children’s category went to Georgia, where the photo story, written by 11-year-old Mariam Meipariani, tells about the experience of growing an ancient wheat variety in the school garden (see above). The winner of the youth category was 16-year-old Zala Debelak from Slovenia, who captured a moment on camera with the playful and multi-meaning title “Bee Happy!”. We’re especially proud to share that both winners in the children and youth categories are part of the Eco-Schools programme in their respective countries.

1st Place, Youth Prize: Zala Debelak "BeeHappy" (Slovenia)

1st Place, Adult Prize: Viktor Panasenko “Spectacular Chicken” (Estonia)

In the adult class, the main prize went to Estonia and it was awarded to Viktor Panasenko for his work “Spectacular Chicken”.

The gallery of the winning photos can be found HERE.

During the project, two guidebooks have also been created for Estonian schools and kindergartens. The first guidebook "From Autumn to Autumn - How to Create a Learning Garden" is a step-by-step guide on practical gardening in all areas, including for example composting. Currently only available in Estonian, we’ve included it here as a source of inspiration. The other guidebook is a methodological collection of gardening games, creative and laboratory tasks and practical materials which to use in a classroom. It can be viewed in Estonian here.

Congratulations to all the winners and this fantastic initiative!