Dolphins as Islands’ Rangers: Environmental Education Program for the Children in Primary School in Ponza And Sant’Antioco, Italy
Project location: Italy, Ponza, Sant’Antioco
Project start date: May 2011 -
Project end date: This project covers various years
Project number: 2011-42
Beneficiary: MAREVIVO
[2012-091 | 2014-009 | 2015-023 | 2016-052]
The project "Dolphins as Islands' Rangers" has already taken place in the Island of Capri in the school years 2009-10 and 2010-11 in a number of primary school classes. It has the aim of creating through an educational program, a group of students which become "Islands' Rangers". They should develop a strong awareness and responsibility in protecting the Island's natural beauties.
For the scholastic year 2009/2010 the project was carried out thanks to the contribution of Marevivo's members, of volunteers and of local companies' donations. The second year (2010/2011) was carried out thanks to the contribution of Capri and Anacapri administrations. The administrations confirmed their support also for the year 2011/2012.
Marevivo wants to implement the project also for the islands of Ponza (Lazio region) and Sant'Antioco (Sardinia region), One of the features of the project is to ease meetings with experts in different fields and to learn from their experiences. In fact one of the goals of the project is to promote the knowledge of local resources teaching civic pride and sense of belonging to the territory.
This project received a grant from the NaEPF. Its aims are to:
- Create awareness on environmental problems through the study of the island's beauties and values on a naturalistic , historical and archeological point of view.
- Bring young people closer to nature teaching that human beings are part of it and that it is everyones' resource
- Stimulate their sense of belonging to the environment and their civic pride, leaving them with the feeling of being part of a community that deals with the protection of important resources.
Project Actions
- Involve young people in practical activities for the discovery of their environment and of the Island's beauties so that they are stimulated to observe, reflect, and elaborate concepts in a creative way
- Focus on youngsters' personal abilities both for their individual and social growth through group activities organised throughout the educational program
- Motivate behavioural changes in line with the common goal of being more respectful of their territory
Methodology
Environmental education is a mean to promote behavioural changes and to teach a sustainable way of life, encouraging individual growth both on a personal and social point of view. This result will be achieved stimulating a sense of belonging to ones' territory and through an active civil participation.
More in detail the methods used are:
- Knowledge through experience: involving each person to observe, elaborate and deduct through the use of one's personal skills
- Group work: essential to develop relationship and organizational skills and to stimulate young people to stand out and show their attitudes in practical activities.
Subjects involved in the project
The subjects involved in the project are primary school students and teachers of Ponza and Sant'Antioco. Their tutors, who have the role of guiding them through the different stages of the project, are part of Marevivo's trained staff who are in charge of helping in class and in field activities . In addition to them there are some experts coming from local organizations that have the purpose of enriching the educational path through their personal experience.
Children parents also have an important and active role in this project. They are asked to join the group in some activities.
Local authorities' representatives are also involved to reinforce the importance of this activity.
Actions to put forward:
- presentation of the project to teachers, students and local authorities
- the educational program is made of school meetings to train the students for the in field activities. These activities are on a montly basis and will be lead by the tutors and by specialists in the different areas
- at the end of the project a closing event will be organised to sum up the results achieved and to give out diplomas to the partecipants. All the subjects involved in the project will be invited to attend the event: students, teachers, local authorities, parents, etc
Marevivo's goal is to go on with this project on a three years' basis. This timing is important to give effective results to the educational path, to allow students to develop in a deeper way all the subjects studied and to develop the acquired duties.
In Ponza 60 children will be involved amongst the 4th and 5th classes of elementary school. In Sant'Antioco 140 children in secondary school will be involved.
Among the results the organization wishes to achieve is the creation of a synergy between the schools and the different environmental themes with special attention to the subject of Italy's biodiversity.
This project received further funding in 2012, 2014, 2015 and in 2016.
