Environmental education in Greece is delivered through an interdisciplinary approach integrated across subjects like mathematics, science, and history rather than as a standalone subject. It is supported by environmental education officers, thematic networks of schools, and environmental education centers. Environmental education officers encourage teacher training and help coordinate school programs. Thematic networks allow collaboration between schools on common topics. Environmental education centers provide resources for formal and informal programs, teacher training, and citizen awareness activities.
Environmental education in Greece is delivered through an interdisciplinary approach integrated across subjects like mathematics, science, and history rather than as a standalone subject. It is supported by environmental education officers, thematic networks of schools, and environmental education centers. Environmental education officers encourage teacher training and help coordinate school programs. Thematic networks allow collaboration between schools on common topics. Environmental education centers provide resources for formal and informal programs, teacher training, and citizen awareness activities.
Deadly forest fires raged in Attica, Greece in July 2018, killing 99 people. Fueled by gale-force winds amid extreme heat and heavy local winds, the fires burned houses built without proper planning and escape routes under highly flammable pine trees. A combination of factors exacerbated the fires, including pressure to develop forest land, distracted firefighting resources, inadequate emergency preparations, and austerity measures that reduced fire equipment and emergency funding by 25%. While any single catastrophic event can't be directly attributed to climate change, studies show climate change is increasing fire risk and the likelihood of severe fires through more frequent heatwaves and drought.
Eleni Koukouli, Environmental Education Officer, Athens B Directorate of Primary Education
The Hellenic LEAF Coordinating Committee is responsible for the coordination, implementation and
monitoring of the LEAF Program in Greece. It meets regularly to plan and evaluate activities.
This document summarizes a pilot environmental education program called "Forest Action for Climate Change Mitigation" that was a collaboration between organizations in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, and Romania. The program aimed to educate primary and secondary school students about forests and climate change through classroom activities, an "Ecocode" with slogans and media, and a common action day. Over 4,400 students and 198 teachers participated in activities focused on topics like biodiversity, wildfires, carbon absorption, energy, and climate change mitigation. The program was presented at an international seminar, with recommendations to implement it on a larger scale and make the educational materials available throughout Europe.
The document summarizes a tree planting activity that took place on Skiathos Island, Greece in November 2015. Over 1,000 pine trees were planted by school students, parents, and volunteers. The activity was coordinated by LEAF Greece and the Municipality of Skiathos, with support from the Fire Department of Skiathos, Skopelos Forestry, and local sponsors. The newly planted trees were marked with labels and "adopted" by children's groups to encourage personal investment in their growth. A teacher training seminar also took place with workshops on developing environmental education activities and presentations about the local Koukounaries wetland-woodland forest area. The concluding remarks highlighted how the activity enhanced
Dimitrios Gkotzos presents the development of a web-based learning environment to educate children about climate change and their rights. The environment aims to enrich the primary school curriculum through an interdisciplinary approach integrating education for sustainable development. It was evaluated through its implementation in 5 primary schools over 10 weeks. The learning environment utilizes a child-centered framework and hypermedia tools to empower learners and facilitate conceptual change regarding children's rights and climate change.
The document discusses the International Thematic Networks of Environmental Education coordinated by the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (HSPN). It describes the Learning About Forests (LEAF) program which involves collaboration between schools in Greece and other countries on environmental education projects related to forests. The LEAF program includes teacher training, student activities in forests, an award for participating schools, and educational resources. It also describes an international seminar held in Athens to discuss forest education initiatives and develop educational materials for climate change mitigation.