Sustainable Eco-Friends meet in Judenburg
From the 5th – 11th February 2023 the BG/BRG Judenburg welcomed twelve Spanish students and two Spanish teachers (Jaime Sainz and Ines Lado – from the Colegio Abad Sola in Gandia) for another student’s exchange. The main topics of this exchange with the title “Sustainable Eco-Friends” were “sustainability and environmental protection”. All exchange students were hosted with Austrian students and were accommodated with Austrian families.
The responsible teachers Mag.a Susanne Stadler, Mag. Michael Kurzemann, Mag.a Ilse Prenn and Mag. Bernd Fiechtl had prepared an extensive programme including social, linguistic, cultural, ecological and sports activities ( https://padlet.com/letschallengethefuture/akk-2022-at-sp-54yw19tb6zbiu9t4 ).
The first day included different ice-breaking activities where students got to know each other. These activities were carried out by the sports teachers Mag. Peter Bogensberger and Mag. Roland Gach. After the first getting to know activities the Vice-Mayor of Judenburg Mag. Thorsten Wohlesser had invited the Spanish and Austrian delegation for a reception at the city tower. In his welcoming speech he pointed out the importance of students’ exchanges for the BG/BRG Judenburg but also for Judenburg. After the reception students had the opportunity to watch a film on environmental issues at the famous “Sternenturm”.
The second day was dedicated to a field trip organised by Mag.a Dr. Eva Gergely in cooperation with the regional forestry association represented by Rupert Liefahrt ( https://www.waldverband-stmk.at/workshops-in-schulen/ ). The field trip included a visit of a local saw mill (Bichler:Holz/Kobenz), where students got extensive information about the importance of sustainable wood industry and the eco-friendly processing of wood in general. The second part of this field trip was carried out in a local forest. Students were introduced to the importance of forests and trees for in relation to live a sustainable life and to reduce our eco-footprint. Experts of the forestry association also explained correct behaviour when entering into a forest. The final part of this workshop was the explanation of how a tree is cut. The highlight of this workshop was the participation in the logging of a tree.
On the following day all exchange students went to Vienna by bus. They started their tour in Vienna with a scavenger hunt. They followed a given tour on a virtual platform. They had to go to certain places of cultural and historic monuments where they had to carry out and document certain activities (https://padlet.com/letschallengethefuture/explore-vienna-city-centre-tour-2-group-2-80etsc10l2shyuuo ). All students finally met at the St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the city centre. After lunch the teachers and students visited the Natural History Museum and the Schönbrunn Castle.
On Thursday all students participated in the arts workshop “Plastic-Whale”. In order to raise awareness for the negative impact of plastic and plastic trash on nature the BG/BRG Judenburg created a plastic trash bin to show how much plastic is produced by everybody every day. The workshop was led by Mag. Steiner Günter and some of his students of the course “Music and Arts”. In the afternoon Austrian families had the opportunity to spend their time with the exchange students.
The project week came to an end with a workshop on the ecological use and the avoidance of plastic and a second workshop where students produced their homemade soap. Additionally all students gave online feedback about the whole project week and the Spanish partners presented their school in Gandia giving greetings from their parents welcoming all Austrian students for the 2nd students’ exchange in March 2023 in Gandia.
The Erasmus+ coordinators Mag.a Ilse Prenn and Mag. Bernd Fiechtl thank all colleagues for making this extraordinary project possible. For their special support and engagement, we thank:
Mag. Ernst Kandler / Mag.a Ursula Schriefl (administration)
Mag. Peter Bogensberger and Mag. Roland Gach (ice-breaking activities)
Mag. Steiner Günter (arts workshop and guided tour in Vienna)
Mag.a Dr.in Eva Gergely (workshop on ecological forestry involving approx. 150 students)
Mag.a Ulrike Sölkner (language classes)
Prof. Mag. Bernd Fiechtl
