newsletter_2008_1.pdf - 5.84 MB - The Baltic Sea Project

Nature is magnificent, beautiful, and mysterious, but
also extremely fragile and vulnerable. Humans are part
of nature; therefore, they must feel the pulse of life and
the related problems. However, more often than not it’s
strange to see that many people have turned away from
the singing of birds, flowers, and sunsets. With the rapid
advancement of technologies, the nature of negative environmental
factors changes: the risk posed by traditional,
i.e. natural, threats is decreasing, whereas the risk posed
by modern, i.e. anthropogenic, threats is increasing, determined
by increasing environmental pollution. Who can
change all this?...
People turning away from nature, as well as their unethical
behaviour in the natural environment, is shameful for
everyone; therefore, the greatest burden of this shame
should be assumed by family and the school where young
people are educated. Acquired knowledge doesn’t automatically
change one’s behaviour. In order for behaviour to
change, one’s relationship with the environment and the
world must change. To achieve this goal, the conditions
for the formation of proper values in young people must
be created. People must love and protect what’s around
them and what’s familiar to them; therefore, one of the
key objectives of environmental science or biology teachers
is to encourage pupils to learn more about the natural
environment, and to value and protect it. The use of the
environment closest to school as an example in the educational
process is the simplest way to achieve this goal. The
environment close to our school is very diverse. Here, you
can see sparrows chirping in the bushes, spiders making
their webs, butterflies sitting on colourful flowers, partridges
hiding under spruces and in boxes made by pupils
in the winter, hawks holding their prey, bacteria colonies
grown by taking sample crops at various locations next
ExPERIEncE
School Environment helps
to learn Nature’s Secrets
Lichens found on trees help to evaluate the quality of air. Photo: Rasa Radžiūnaitė
to the school, and plenty of other exciting things. The
most important thing is to draw pupils’ attention to the
life around them. By observing and studying the environment,
pupils expand their knowledge, learn more about
the environmental processes, and acquire new skills. Major
attention is paid to the following tasks:
● Observation and study of natural objects;
● Development and implementation of ecological and
environmental projects;
● Education of the school and town communities;
● Spreading of good practice during district, national,
and international conferences; and
● Participation in district, national, and international
environmental projects.
● Our school has been taking part in the Baltic Sea
Project since the very beginning; therefore, we have
carried out numerous research and project tasks. In
2007, we took part in the following two programmes:
● Phenological observations; and
● Air quality.
The studies which need to be carried out in the process of
implementation of the programmes were integrated in the
Biology and Nature and Humans academic subjects. 5th
and 6th form pupils carry out phenological observations
in the spring, whereas 7th, 8th and 9th form pupils perform
air quality studies using certain organisms as biological
indicators. These works are performed in the autumn.
7th form pupils determine the quality of air by observing
black spots on maple leaves, 8th form pupils – by observing
certain indicative characteristics of lichens, and 9th
form pupils – by observing conifers. Every academic year,
pupils carry out various studies under the Baltic Sea Project
programmes. Such activities help pupils to understand
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