THIRD ERASMUS+ TEACHER ACTIVITY - NORTH MACEDONIA

From 3rd to 7th November 2025, the third Erasmus+ mobility project “Artistic Journey to Green Future” took place in Skopje, bringing together schools from Spain, Malta, Turkey, North Macedonia, and Croatia. The project encourages students to express their creativity, promote environmental awareness, and foster international cooperation. The third meeting in the capital of North Macedonia focused on climate change, environmental protection, and sustainable development, bringing together participants at the Memorial Center of the “Nikola Kljusev” Foundation.

After the opening ceremony and presentation of the program, the Croatian team held a presentation “Environmental Issues in Croatia”, prepared by librarian Ivana Čarapina and biology teacher Vesna Pavlović, and presented in English by principal Tomislav Tomić. The presentation covered the most important environmental challenges in Croatia: climate change, biodiversity conservation, waste management, and an example of good practice in Metković through ecological projects and a sustainable school community.

The participants visited the birthplace of Saint Mother Teresa, who dedicated her life to helping others. A special impression was made by the fact that the house houses a photograph of Mother Teresa and Father Ante Gabrić, symbolically connecting Skopje and our Neretva.

On the second day, the participants visited the Hydrometeorological Center, where they had the opportunity to learn about modern methods of monitoring climate change, radar monitoring, and warning systems for extreme weather events. A visit to an elementary school in Skopje was particularly interesting, where members of the Croatian team participated in classes, talked with teachers and students, and exchanged ideas about environmental activities in schools.

The third day began with a lecture by Professor Dr. Sc. Dame Dimitrovska on sustainable mobility and the importance of public transport for reducing CO₂ emissions. After that, the participants visited the beautiful Matka Canyon and the Museum of Electricity Generation. The natural landscape and technical heritage showed how energy can be used in harmony with nature.

The fourth day was dedicated to lectures on climate change, ecological migrations, and sustainable solutions, given by Prof. Dr. sc. Jordanka Galeva. The participants then visited the Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia, where they had the opportunity, in addition to an organized tour of the Parliament building, to meet and exchange experiences with MPs Veliko Stojkov Serafimovski and Toni Jarevski, members of the Inter-Party Parliamentary Group for Nature Protection and Combating Pollution and Climate Change. The day ended with a wonderful traditional dinner with Macedonian music and socializing.

The last day of mobility was dedicated to presentations by partner schools and planning future activities. The coordinator of the Croatian team, primary school teacher Marijana Curić, gave a lecture Observing and Creativity in Nature, through which she presented examples of practice with her students carried out this school year, and which belong to the topic "Green Classroom". The students and their teacher attended an out-of-classroom lesson at the Neretva Estuary (September 2025) and were divided into teams to participate in a guided research. After the field lesson, they continued their work in the classroom with prepared activities.

At the end of the mobility, teachers did an evaluation, awarded certificates, and planned the final mobility in Croatia. In addition to the rich educational program, the participants had the opportunity to enjoy sightseeing in Skopje, a city that combines history and modernity at every step. A walk through the Old Bazaar, the scents of spices, traditional crafts, and colorful scenes of street vendors left a special impression on all team members. Among other things, they enjoyed the cultural sights of the city, the bridges over the Vardar, magnificent statues, and the view of the Kale fortress, and every evening was filled with laughter, song, and friendship that connected all participants of this project.

Skopje will be remembered by everyone for its big-hearted people, for the learning that inspired, and for the togetherness that once again reminded us that, just like nature, friendship should be preserved.

https://os-sradica-metkovic.skole.hr/tim-os-stjepana-radica-na-3-erasmus-mobilnosti-u-sjevernoj-makedoniji-artistic-journey-to-green-future/

Climate change in Croatia

 As part of the ERASMUS + project “Artistic Journey to a Green Future”  during March, April and May 2025, students of grades 5 and 6 of the Stjepan Radić Elementary School in Metković, together with their science teacher Vesna Pavlović, researched climate change in Croatia. The aim of the research is to introduce students to the causes and consequences of climate change at the local and global levels and to encourage them to think about how they can contribute to environmental conservation through their everyday actions. The students were divided into groups and given tasks in which they developed responsibility towards nature through research and, through collaborative relationships, came up with creative proposals and sustainable solutions for reducing the negative impact on the environment.

1. The group had the task of researching and finding information about climate change, its causes and consequences for humans and the living world, and how climate change affects biodiversity. As part of this, the students created stickers with messages about nature conservation and rational use of energy. The students presented the obtained data to other groups in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. By participating in planting plants in the school garden, they emphasized and sent a message about the importance of plants in reducing global warming. The students developed a sense of connection with nature and all living things.

The students also participated in the activities of the Metković City Red Cross Society, where, as volunteers, they conducted an educational campaign at the Neretva estuary among the swimmers present about the importance of protection from UV radiation and the changes that affect human health. They also demonstrated methods of providing first aid for sunstroke and heatstroke. 

The 2nd group of students had the task of researching and finding data on ecological and CO2 footprint. As part of the research, they had the task of finding and comparing ecological footprint data in the project participating countries: Croatia, North Macedonia, Malta, Turkey and Spain. The students noticed how everyday activities can affect the environment and climate change. They especially emphasized the need to collect, sort and recycle waste, in which we participated throughout the year by collecting plastic caps and paper. The data that the students researched was presented on posters.

The 3rd group of students had the task of presenting a poster depicting the Life Path of a Can. Through research and a workshop, the journey of an aluminum can was shown, from the extraction of bauxite ore, through aluminum production and can manufacturing, its transportation, filling and use, all the way to disposal and recycling. Using the example of an aluminum can, the students noticed that the production of new products is demanding and consumes large amounts of energy and leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Conclusion at the end of the workshop: Every can has its own path - choose the one that leads to recycling.

The 4th group of students had the task of using eco messages to show what we can do to help each individual contribute to preserving the environment in order to mitigate the consequences of climate change. We decorated a billboard with eco messages on the occasion of Earth Day. Students become aware that their behavior can positively affect the space in which they live.

After the group activities, the students showed their creativity by making stickers, posters and eco-messages. They noticed that climate change is already affecting life in Croatia: increasingly frequent heat waves, droughts, forest fires, strong storms, floods, etc. Climate change is a global problem, but it also has local consequences. They discussed the consequences of climate change in Croatia and devised and suggested ways to reduce the ecological footprint, such as cycling, saving energy, using reusable bottles and bags, sorting waste, recycling, buying and using local and seasonal food, using renewable energy sources, planting trees, etc. We decorated the classroom and school hallway with the students' work, sending a message to other students: "The small changes we make today protect the world we live in tomorrow."  

https://os-sradica-metkovic.skole.hr/klimatske-promjene-u-hrvatskoj/