Lithuania #3

The third short-term training event took place in Kedainiai nursery-kindergarten Puriena (Lithuania) and involved the following activities:

Workday 1: Guest meeting and greeting at the host institution. The project participants got acquainted with the management of the institution, teaching curriculum, policy and strategy, committees, teaching staff other members of the community. They also observed the activities with children during which a special focus on ecology and recycling was given. The afternoon activities involved the meeting with the Mayor of Kedainiai town and region and educational visits to other pre-school institutions in Kėdainiai to learn about their eco-related activities.

Workday 2: The participants had an opportunity to take part in an educational activity at Arnet’s House and traditional celebration of Shrove Tuesday in nursery-kindergarten Puriena and the whole Kedainiai town. The activities also involved the workshop of “Mask making from recycled materials” and tasting of the symbol of the celebration – pancakes.

Workday 3: The third day of the short-term training event was dedicated to project dissemination on the local, regional, national and international levels. The morning activities started with the workshop for poster presentation on “Eco-education” in various institutions. The afternoon activities involved the International Forum, during which various presentations on “Eco-education” were delivered both virtually and face to face. The forum was a great success, which included a lot of participants from Lithuanian and partner countries – Greece, Turkey, Romania.

Workday 4: All participants continued their visits to other pre-school institutions in Kėdainiai to learn about outdoor education and eco-related activities that are implemented there. Furthermore, the project partners had a chance of going to local organic farms to observe the peculiarities of the growth of various unusual plants, e.g., bamboos.

Workday 5: The participants visited an Alpaca farm and had a tour in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania where they could observe the traditional Craftsmen fair “Kaziukas Muge”. The afternoon activities involved a farewell party with traditional songs and dances and the award of the certificates.

The participants of the third short-term training event benefited by:

- getting acquainted with the peculiarities and regulations for recycling and reusing of materials, energy saving and waste management in Lithuanian preschools and in Lithuania in general

- getting to learn more about the activities carried out by the host institution, especially in relation to nature protection and eco-awareness

- getting to more about the activities carried out by the other preschools in Kedainiai town and region, especially in relation to nature protection and eco-awareness

- learning about various ways of nature protection and fostering by visiting organic farms and the Alpacas farm

- developing teamwork and collaboration skills

- improving language skills

- improving presentation skills

- developing a strong network for future collaboration

- improving the idea of environmentally friendly institutions (the concept and award of the green flag)

- adopting new methods of formal and non-formal educational activities