Learn biodiversity through Environmental Action For the community-LEAF

According to the Biodiversity Information System for Europe, Europe’s flora comprises 20-25,000 species and the areas with the highest plant richness are in the Mediterranean region. Education about the importance of plant biodiversity to preserve the natural ecosystems and fight against climate change is crucial to meet the goals of the EU biodiversity strategy. Currently, we are facing a loss of biodiversity globally, and this is also the case for the partners involved in this project, which are all rich in terms of plant biodiversity. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, based on its Red List of species, reports that the percentage of vascular plant species at risk is 12% in Greece, 10% in Italy, 6% in France. 

In ITALY, the main issue which seriously puts in danger the Italian diversity within flora and fauna is the introduction of dozens of species from other countries. Similarly, GREECE’s rich plant biodiversity is threatened by invasive alien species intentionally or accidentally introduced, as well as by pollution. 

In FRANCE, habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are the most significant threats at the European level that occur to species. 

ROMANIA’s biodiversity faces many risks in the North-East because of pollution, fishing and hunting. There is poor awareness about waste management, and human waste ends up on river banks and in forests, putting many species at risk. 

In SERBIA, it is estimated that around 60% of the endemic plant species are endangered for various reasons. A decline in biodiversity is directly attributed to a substantial loss of natural habitat due to expanding agriculture (particularly on the Pannonian plains) and the drainage of swamps and marshes. 

Loss of biodiversity in CROATIA is mainly caused by the loss and fragmentation of habitats because of human activities (such as agricultural activity and infrastructure development) and natural succession processes (especially in abandoned agricultural land). 

The situation depicted highlights how additional monitoring services and resources would be beneficial for enlarging the species dataset and knowledge base. Monitoring of endangered species, beyond contributing to scientific research, also has an impact on the project target groups in terms of understanding the seriousness and consequences of biodiversity loss. 

Although biodiversity is studied in the school curriculum through geography and science classes, environmental education is not taught as a subject itself, being sometimes an elective subject that leaves it up to the teachers to decide what to teach. Therefore, there is the need to link scientific concepts with broader topics such as the effects of climate change, and continuous professional development of teachers is key to mainstream sustainability education in the curricula.

The project aims to: 

• Create a new service-learning methodology for secondary schools targeted to the monitoring and protection of local plant biodiversity. 
• Train teachers, school staff and leaders on the service-learning methodology applied to the monitoring of plant biodiversity, offering them a new pedagogical opportunity for their students that will turn beneficial for the community at large. 
• Increase the percentage of European plant environments actually monitored on a regular basis. 
• Promote a new model of grassroots citizen-science initiative dedicated to plant biodiversity performed by schools.
• Enhance the quality of STEM learning for secondary schools’ students through innovative project-based methodologies. 
• Link student’s syllabus and learning objectives with real needs from the community, thus going beyond the old passive learning method where students just receive information from teachers, with no feedback or practical application. 
• Increase students’ engagement and participation, thus combating early school drop. 
• Promote active citizenship, environmental protection, social inclusion and the establishment of long-term structured cooperation between schools and local stakeholders. 

Through the completion of the main aims of the project, LEAF will also:

1. Support the development of sustainability competences in line with the European Sustainability Competence Framework (GreenComp). It will do so through an innovative and multidisciplinary teaching approach that promotes civic engagement and experiential learning.
2. Raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity and the need to protect nature and promote the importance of citizen science to monitor plant biodiversity. Through education, the project aims to make teachers and students agents of change. 
3. Provide teachers with a unique Continuous Professional Development opportunity to improve their skills in using innovative and multidisciplinary teaching approaches.