The “We are ON the network (Natura 2000)” communication campaign reached 3 500 school pupils and 150 teachers, promoting curiosity, public participation and visits to eight Natura 2000 sites in Portugal. This relatively small-scale project demonstrates through its tailor-made educational activities how to achieve big, long-lasting impacts.
About the project
- Main applicant
KEEP Association
- Category
Communication
- Countries involved
Portugal
- Main N2000 site
Serra da Lousã (PTCON0005)
Overview
“We are ON the network (Natura 2000)” is a communication campaign aimed at raising awareness in school students and teachers about the diversity and richness of Natura 2000 on the Portuguese mainland.
The campaign featured seven very different Natura 2000 sites representing a range of ecosystems (Rio Minho, Litoral Norte, Barrinha de Esmoriz, Rio Vouga, Dunas de Mira Gândara e Gafanhas, Paul de Arzila and Serra da Lousã), and species from different taxonomic groups to illustrate the fauna and flora of the sites.
Over three months, the campaign organised 100 environmental education sessions reaching more than 3 500 school students aged 3-18 and over 150 teachers from schools in the municipalities where the targeted Natura 2000 sites are found.
The campaign organisers - the KEEP Association, the Centro Social Paroquial Vera-Cruz, and Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE) - made great efforts to tailor the communication tools to the interests and needs of the different age groups. They engaged students and teachers in science communication and awareness events and established a network of local entities and other stakeholders, promoting curiosity, interest, public participation and visits to Natura 2000 sites. 43% of students who answered a survey after the campaign said they were now interested in knowing more about Natura 2000, and 35% would like to visit a site.
Several projects were developed with the students, including a photo contest, the creation of a wooden domino game, a tangram puzzle, a memory game, a quiz, an e-book and a wall calendar using the winning photographs from the contest. The wooden domino game was created by carpentry students with special educational needs, and the quiz is available in braille to all schools that request it.
In 2020, this campaign won the “LifeLong Learning 2020” prize, awarded by the European Civil Society for Education, in the category ‘Learning that lasts – Sustainable learning’.
