Information

Inspiring GEE meeting in Romania

GEE partners from the 5 countries (UK, Romania, Spain, Latvia and Bulgaria) met for the final translation meeting in Târgu Mureș, Romania. As well as celebrating successes and discussing difficulties, partners were able to experience some Romanian entrepreneurship during a trip to the village of Corund. The trip was organised by local tour operator, ‘Slow Tours’ who are fighting against unsustainable mass tourism in the area.  During the trip, partners met a family making crafts from mushrooms, a family of very skilled potters making beautiful ceramics, producers of locally grown jams and syrups and a new museum all about a locally mined stone called aragonite. Partners were treated to lunch at a farm up in the hills, by a family who are completely self- sufficient in food, making and smoking their own cheese, growing fruits and vegetables and growing feed for their animals. This inspirational trip left the partners feeling inspired and excited about bringing all their ideas and hard work together in the final 2 months of the project.

          

 

Coffee House Challenge

A Green Entrepreneurs Europe (GEE) event was held, bringing together GEE students and teachers with inspiring speakers from Ford, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Elder, sharing how their organisations incorporate sustainable production; embrace the circular economy and the highs and lows of real-life entrepreneurship. Students from Brampton Manor Academy and Roding Valley High School then presented their business ideas which had to incorporate the circular economy and ‘lessons from nature’ principles.

All groups received feedback and tips from our guests, who then had the difficult task of choosing a winning team. After much deliberation, Socology were chosen. A huge thank you and well done to Martin Tomkins from Ford and his two apprentices Melanie Morey and Adam Leonard; Pete Dowds from Elder and Pamela Stathaki and Luke Hedger from GSK as well as our partner schools: Brampton Manor Academy and Roding Valley High School.

     Guests from Ford, GalxoSmithKline and Elder discussing the students’ inspirational presentations and giving them feedback.

More budding entrepreneurs get hands-on, learning how nature does things at Epping Forest.

A week after the first group, we welcomed another school, Roding Valley High School, to Epping Forest, Essex, UK. This group of budding entrepreneurs were just as enthusiastic as the first; working as teams to uncover the benefits of the forest, discovering the downsides of recycling in an entertaining way and exploring the underwater world of a freshwater pond, which proved a great hit amongst the students. A favourite catch was the huge water beetle and the freshwater boatmen, who both breathe by coming up to the surface and grabbing a bubble of air, which they carry around with them to breathe from. Could we copy that natural technology and design an innovative underwater breathing system for humans?

“I learnt that trees are crucial for our world” Student

(Recycling) “It all ends up in landfill eventually!” Student

“I enjoyed pond dipping the most as it was a great experience” Student.

“Students should be taught all their lessons like this. They will never forget what they did here in the forest” Teacher

 

Recycling game
Exploring woodland benefits
One group found a huge water beetle.

Our young entrepreneurs getting inspired by nature at Epping Forest

On the 22nd September we welcomed Students from Brampton Manor Academy to Epping Forest, Essex, UK. See photos below to see what they got up to.  Students explored the woodland to look for invertebrates and used these to explain how in nature everything is cycled. Students investigated trees and came up with multiple benefits of trees. Imagine if you could design a single product that does all of these things? 

“I have learnt how to make some business ideas and how to make it into  real business.” Student.

“I have overcome my fear of bugs, and now I can find them with confidence” Student.

“I enjoyed being able to interact around the forest and being able to turn things from the forest into an idea for a product” Student.

“I learnt how to calculate the age of a tree”  Student.

GEE project in the UK

The GEE project has been set up to help create the next generation of green entrepreneurs in Europe and develop the skills of young people.  The project brings schools and businesses together to strengthen co-operation and help build the green economy.

Europe needs more young people with green entrepreneurship skills.  The GEE project will help schools develop their pupils’ skills and competencies so they can play an active role in developing the green economy.

The GEE project aims “to improve the key competencies and skills of young people to take an active role in building the green economy and strengthen cooperation between school and the world of work.”

In the UK Field Studies Council, FSC, are the project partner.  They will be working to support teachers to use learning outside the classroom and real world learning to develop these skills.  FSC will be part of this project which provides:

  • Learning packs
  • Field trips
  • Teacher training and teacher support
  • Coffee House Challenge (CHC) informal meetings
  • Business case studies
  • Green business plans
  • Linking schools with businesses
  • Project website

Five European countries in total are joining together for this innovative project: Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Spain and the UK, all sharing the same goal of a greener Europe with more sustainable businesses.

Our consortium is made up of environmental educators and entrepreneurs/business; a unique combination. Traditionally seen as opposed, we will bring together business and the environment to explore the creative potential this has for learning and the green economy.