From the Lagoon to the Ocean-Caring for our future – FLOCARE
Objectives of the project
From the Lagoon to the Ocean – Caring for Our Future (FLOCARE) aims to promote ocean literacy and environmental awareness among primary and lower secondary school students in Aveiro, Portugal, connecting learning with the local context of the Ria de Aveiro and the ocean.
The project encourages students to better understand environmental challenges such as pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change, while promoting sustainable behaviours and active citizenship. It also supports interdisciplinary learning by combining science, arts, technology, culture, and project-based methodologies.
A key objective is to ensure inclusive participation, involving students from diverse backgrounds, including refugees and students with special educational needs, and empowering them to become ambassadors for a more sustainable future.
Activities
Students will take part in field trips to the lagoon, salt pans, and beaches, where they will observe local ecosystems and participate in litter collection activities.
They will also conduct interviews with fishermen and experts, carry out surveys on local environmental issues, and work in thematic groups to produce texts, videos, podcasts, infographics, and art exhibitions using recycled materials.
The project includes ICT and robotics workshops, where students will design innovative solutions linked to environmental protection. A community campaign will also be organised, including clean-up actions, dune planting, and awareness sessions in elementary schools.
The project will culminate in a public fair, where students will showcase their artistic and scientific outputs and present a Youth Manifesto for the Ocean to local authorities.
Expected outputs
The project will produce a range of scientific, creative, and communication outputs, including exhibitions, videos, podcasts, infographics, recycled-material artworks, posters, radio content, and awareness campaigns.
One of the main outputs will be the Youth Manifesto for the Ocean, which will be shared with the City Hall and the wider community.
Other expected outputs include clean-up campaigns, dune planting activities, a final community fair, and educational materials developed through interdisciplinary and project-based learning.
Impact
The project is expected to strengthen students’ knowledge of marine biodiversity, pollution, and climate change, while developing creativity, teamwork, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.
By involving students as the main actors of the project, FLOCARE fosters a sense of ownership, responsibility, and active citizenship. It also supports inclusion by offering hands-on activities for refugees, students with special educational needs, and multicultural groups.
Teachers will strengthen their capacity for interdisciplinary and project-based teaching, supported by partnerships with the University of Aveiro, NGOs, fishermen, local authorities, families, and other community actors.
Overall, the project aims to build a stronger connection between education, culture, and environmental responsibility, raising awareness about sustainability and ocean protection within both the school community and wider society.
We hope this project empowers students to become informed, responsible, and active citizens, fostering a deep commitment to ocean sustainability and a lasting culture of environmental awareness within the school and the wider community.
