Το PULCHRA διερευνά τη σχολική ιδέα μέσω του θέματος Πόλεις ως οικοσυστήματα.
The PULCHRA project explores the open schooling concept through the theme "Cities as urban ecosystems”, in view of creating new partnerships in local communities to foster science education for all citizens. Schools, in cooperation with other stakeholders, will become agents of community well-being, by exploring the natural environment, the built environment and the socio-economic environment in cities. This is extremely important since the concept of cities being considered as urban ecosystems is underestimated and is not usually linked to science education for all.
The methodology is based on pilot themes (termed City Challenges) which create know-how, build trust in the science approach based on participants own experience, facilitate skilled use of tools and support community building as they are based upon the identity of the communities in which they take place. A City Challenges Platform is developed to bridge partners, schools and stakeholders; mixed Science Teams and students acting as Science Reporters will explore and disseminate the City Challenges respectively.
Our approach is situated in the living environment. Engaging in environmental education has a direct impact upon the community and the personal lives of the participants. The benefit of international cooperation of the EU member states becomes obvious at the community level.
The consortium is coherent and brings complementary expertise, whereas the project is supported by a wide variety of stakeholders in the participating countries, which is considered an asset of the project and shows its replication potential.
The pilot themes to be explored within the project exhibit richness in science as they take note of several scientific fields related to cities as urban ecosystems, they are supported by technology, bring in innovation and are directly linked to SDGs and the European policies for cities.