Activity 3 Portugal

The third activity of the project took place in a Portuguese school with the participation of all partners. After a ceremonial welcome by the school director, we had the opportunity to see the school and its equipment.

This was followed by a workshop prepared by representatives of the Centre for Climate Change from North Macedonia on the topic of water. The main topics of the workshop were climate change such as weather changes (including drought or flood), deforestation, increased pollution, greenhouse gases and inefficient use of water, which are the main causes of insufficient water supply. During the workshop, in international groups, students discussed not only the causes, but also ways to improve the situation and how everyone can help.

The workshop was subsequently complemented by a visit of the waste sorting and disposal centre https://planaltobeirao.pt . It processes waste in a modern and innovative way. Waste is brought here from the whole area, where approximately 250,000 people live. In this way, the students could realize not only how waste is processed and recycled, but also how much waste humanity produces. Then we stopped at the dam, which serves not only to regulate water, but also to produce energy. The last visit of the first day belonged to the mushroom farm https://feiradomel.cm-penacova.pt/quinta cogumelos-physalis/ , which uses solar energy and, in cooperation with the university, deals with the further use of mushrooms not only as possible food of the future or also, for example, as fertilizer.

In the following days, the participants had the opportunity to get to know some areas of Portugal – a touristic city of Aveiro https://www.visitportugal.com/en/node/73753 . It is known for its canal and the participants sailed along it in typical traditional boats. Next, we walked to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Costa Nova. It was a great experience especially for the Czech students. A visit to the university city of Coimbra, whose old town belongs to the protected monuments of UNESCO https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1387/ , will also be unforgettable. A visit and tour of the local university https://www.uc.pt/en  was also included.

The last day was dedicated to visit of the surroundings of the town of Penacova – the Lorvão Monastery and the old wind mills. New wind power plants could be seen in the background. The students were thus able to realize the connection between history and modern times and the importance of the use of wind energy in the past and in the present.

We also met a mayor of Penacova and introduced him our project.

The last point of the program was a workshop in international groups, during which students and teachers prepared presentations using the web tool padlet – what we experienced during the week and what new things we learned. Finally individual groups presented their work in English.

The final point of the program was not only the evaluation of this activity, but also of the entire project. The project was dedicated to climate change, alternative energy sources and the importance of water for life on our planet. The project significantly contributed to raising awareness of this topic not only among project participants, but also thanks to activities at individual schools and the public. Significant benefits of the project were newly established friendships, getting to know other traditions and countries, acquiring social skills, for example when travelling, and deepening the participants’ communication skills in the English language.