Oriveden lukio on mukana maailmanlaajuisessa Young Reporters for the Environment Litter Less -kampanjassa. Osana kampanjaa nuoret osallistuvat YRE -kilpailuun, jossa nuoret tuottavat puhuttelevia valokuvia, tekstejä ja videoita. Oriveden lukion teemana kampanjassa on Itämeren suojelu ja merilukutaito sekä verkostoyhteistyön hyödyntäminen näiden teemojen käsittelyssä kouluissa.
Lukio osallistuu kilpailuun videoilla, joiden materiaalia kuvattiin UNESCO BSP -verkoston Hailuodon kestävän kehityksen leirillä 24. -26.4.2024.
Tutustu kaikkiin Oriveden lukion opiskelijoiden YRE-kilpailutöihin täältä:
https://www.b-s-p.org/post/litter-less-campaign
Lue lisää YRE Litter Less – kampanjasta täältä:
https://www.b-s-p.org/post/litter-less-campaign
Eating habits
People and fish are part of the same water cycle. We all want to eat healthy. We can help fish. Help!
Air
Your own actions can poison you. Your action can poison the fish in the ocean, too. Do you feel the pain? Do you want the fish to suffer? No? Then take care of the environment. Take care of yourself, too!
Waste Generation
People throw the trash to the ground even if there’s a rubbish bin right next to them. Think about what you do. You are a part of the world around you. You can do better. Take actions to change the world! Start with throwing the trash into a rubbish bin. And don’t forget to recycle!
Ocean Literacy in schools
When talking about teaching ocean literacy and ways to protect the ocean, is there a difference whether your school is located in the middle of the continent or on the shore of a sea? No, there is absolutely no difference. Wherever you live, everything you do affects the ocean and everything that happens in the ocean affects your life. Every school should teach ocean literacy.
Our school is a member of the UNESCO Associated Schools network and we are participating in the UNESCO Baltic Sea Project. Our school also actively participates in the Erasmus+ programme. We host many groups of pupils from European countries every school year. We organize different kinds of workshops and activities teaching participating students and teachers skills for a sustainable future.
Ocean literacy to build a sustainable future
This school year we have focused on UNESCO ASPnet’s thematic action areas “Global citizenship” and “Sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles”. Our school participates in the Young Reporters for the Environment Litter Less Campaign and we have also worked on our campaign topic “Ocean Literacy” with our international guests. We do this because as a Unesco school, we “interact with and share our experiences with other schools, domestically and abroad, and with our community and different partners, in order to widen the impact of our activities.”
Photo: Frozen sea in Hailuoto 25 April 2024
People living far from the ocean missing the connection
It has surprised us that not all schools teach ocean literacy. We have noticed that far too many teachers and students think that if their school is not located at the shore, they don’t need to know or they don’t need to work on marine topics. Many people think they are not connected with the ocean. This proves that we really need to raise awareness about the relationship between the ocean and humanity.
We are all connected with the ocean
The truth is that we are all connected with the ocean. The well-being of the ocean affects the well-being of each of us. We interviewed Satu Räsänen, a science reporter working for the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).
According to Satu Räsänen it is important to talk about the protection of the seas to all students, regardless of whether they live by the sea or not. Everything we do in the catchment area affects the quality of the water: land use, farming, agriculture and construction. All these affect the quality of the water running into rivers and lakes, and finally into the ocean. What we do always affects the ocean: If we decide to let plastic waste fall to the ground in the middle of the continent, plastic litter will eventually drift into the sea. That’s why even though the sea is far away, our actions matter.
Satu Räsänen explained to us how important the well-being of the ocean is for humanity. Well-being of the ocean is kind of the starting point of the environmental cycle, the water cycle. Fishing and other marine resources are important to humans, for example as a food source. We, of course, want to eat healthy and clean food.
What can we do to spread awareness about the importance of teaching ocean literacy in every school regardless of the location of the school?
Schools can make a difference together
We strongly believe that international collaboration between schools can have an impact. It offers us the possibility to meet like-minded people and to learn together. Participation in an international meeting not only helps us to learn how to protect the sea but it is a social event for a good cause, too. The participants will take with them what they have learnt and experienced. They will spread the word in their school, hometown and home country.
Photo: Poster presenting the workshop results (Hailuoto sustainability camp 24 – 26 April 2024)
Invite local experts
Kello school, a member of the The Baltic Sea Project organized an international sustainability camp in Hailuoto 24 – 26 April 2024. Vilma Wiro, a teacher from Kuninkaanhaka koulu enjoyed the camp: “The workshop leaders and experts who have been here giving the workshops have been absolutely great! It is so amazing what they have been able to offer our students. For example, a doctor of biology who indeed knows the topic very well, knows how to show and explain everything in a completely different way, in a way that it makes you interested. Camps like these offer more than what you can normally do at school.
Why should schools organize ocean literary workshops? Because it’s worth it!
We asked Lyydia Teppola, a pupil of Kello school participating in the Baltic Sea Project’s sustainability camp in Hailuoto about the importance of ocean literary workshops: “It’s definitely the fact that you learn so many new things and make new friends. You gain experience. You learn to better understand other people and cultures as well as everything related to the environment and protection of the Baltic Sea. You learn how to make this world a better place for all people and for wildlife. This camp has been really great in many ways. I’m part of the media group of the camp creating reports. In the workshop “Concrete Baltic Sea Action in secondary schools” we learnt how we can all put into practice what we learn in school and protect the Baltic Sea in our everyday life. We also created all kinds of tasks and challenges for students and teachers. I designed a mobile game where you can have adventures around the Baltic Sea and learn about the protection of the Baltic Sea. We were also asked to create an action plan on how to implement this all in our schools and into the school curriculum.”The coordinator of the camp, Mervi Sonninen, teacher from Kello school, was really happy about this feedback: “I’m so happy to hear this. Thank you, Lyydia! What you just said is the reason why we organize these camps, hoping our camp participants will make the most out of it. I think we are really in safe hands when the youth grows up with this mindset.”
Aili Savolainen, Oriveden lukio
Photo: Poster presenting the workshop results (Hailuoto sustainability camp 24 – 26 April 2024)
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