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Sustainable Älvkullen
Start date: Jun 1, 2015, End date: May 31, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Background: Älvkullegymnasiet has been running a project called "Sustainable Älvkullen". Initially, the need for knowledge in the area "sustainability" was vast. We already had some knowledge about sustainability and environmental issues at the school, but we needed to develop how we worked with learning for sustainability, so that it permeated our teaching in all courses. The goal was for us to be an environmentally certified and sustainable school. Our problem was that we lacked the international angle on sustainability We felt that we could not work for a sustainable society if we did not have the knowledge of the outside world. Activities, targets and participants: For us to be be able to work for a sustainable society in Älvkullegymnasiet and become a sustainable school, our teachers needed to have greater knowledge in the following areas: sustainable learning in school, the current international climate debate, communication techniques and sustainable learning from a historical perspective. To achieve these objectives, the teachers needed to attend the following courses: A course from the Global School called "The Global Classroom" in Valetta, Malta, 13-17 October 2015 (dates of 12 and 18 October) .Unfortunately the teachers could not attend this course, but in consultation with UHR two teachers could attend the course SMILE - Using Museum and Heritage as a teaching and learning resource, 27 march to 2 april, Istanbul, Turkey. Here, the participants learned how to work with sustainability and cultural heritage through cooperation with schools and colleagues from other EU countries. The focus was on how sustainability, history and identity can work together to address issues such as sustainability, social sustainability and identity and how this can be implemented in teaching. The two teachers who were sent off on this course acted as "keys" and had a large part in the Sustainability Week held in May, 2016 at Älvkullegymnasiet. During this week, teachers, students and members of the local council participated in activities such as a "used clothes exchange" where people could come in and hand in their old clothes so that somebody else could use them instead of buying new ones, a book exchange day, which worked after a similar concept, quizzes, lectures and exhibitions. Capacity Building for Educational Action in ESD, 5-7 November 2015, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Unfortunately, our Erasmus application was denied in the first round and once we got an ok and could apply, the seminar was fully booked. After consultation with, and approval by, UHR, we decided to attend another course called "Education for Sustainable Development", organized by IDEC SA, Piraeus, Greece, 22 to 26 February 2016. The purpose of the course was to give participants knowledge of creating training programs, educational materials and resources for education for sustainable development. The course adressed various ways of learning for sustainable development and principles for a sustainable school. We sent one participant on this course and by doing this we managed to achieve the knowledge and skills we needed in our organization. These skills are needed to be able to work with the project Sustainable Älvkullen and develop an international perspective on our learning. TEFL / TESOL English Teacher Refresher Course, 1-7 November 2015, Florence, Italy: Two language teachers (English/German and Religion/English) learned more about intercultural communication.These participants have worked actively with communication and they have learned to build "bridges of communication" across borders and cultural boundaries. This course made participants able to organise and arrange the publicity around Älvkullegymnasiet's sustainability week. They were in charge of the "clothe exchange" and worked on a campaign to get all teachers at Älvkullegymnasiet to stop using paper cups for their coffee. "Discovering Renaissance art" April, 2016: Two history teachers needed to attend this course, because we realized that sustainability is much more than just the current climate debate. We needed more knowledge of the preservation of historical buildings and we needed the knowledge of the era that has emerged as both innovative, creative and sustainable: namely The Renaissance. The course also addressed the threat posed by climate change to our cultural heritage and the conflict between the authentic old and refurbished buildings. Examples were shown on how much damage a natural disaster can do to our heritage.. All these courses have been presented to the other teachers at Älvkullegymnasiet during the study days in the academic year 2015 / 16.All teachers at Älvkullegymnasiet have thus had access to the knowledge that the teachers who traveled to Europe acquired. On quite a few of these days environmental strategists and climate advisors from Karlstad municipality participated.
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