ESIA

NBS EduWORLD International Course 2025

29 June - 4 July 2025

The European Green Deal sets out the European Union’s (EU) goals of leading just economic and ecological transitions. Moving to a climate-neutral EU will have significant social, economic, and employment impacts. A socially just transformation needs people to have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to shape and cope with profound change. Education and training, like all sectors, can act as catalysts and support a shift to a more sustainable society.

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) link closely to these educational visions due to their integration of climate mitigation and adaptation, co-creative planning, socio-environmental justice, and nature-positive economies. The school communities, as building blocks of societies, have a voice and role in managing environmental challenges. If teachers and students are informed and active, they can contribute effectively to the crises. By seeking solutions to everyday problems and challenges through the study of nature and the ways it has found to solve them, by discussing and designing nature-based interventions inside and outside the school building with the participation of parents and external stakeholders, the school becomes a living lab of knowledge and production of meaningful solutions and an “accelerator” of pro-environmental behavior, both for the school community and the local community.

In this framework, NBS EduWORLD project creates an NBS community that facilitates synergies between NBS professionals and education providers and ensures free and easy access to NBS knowledge and resources for all.

NBS EduWORLD International Course is part of the NBS EduWORLD Academy with main objectives for the school heads and teachers of both primary and secondary schools to: 

  • Understand the basic aspects of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and integrate them into their school.
  • Explore innovative pedagogies, various NBS resources, and case studies to inspire.
  • Develop an action plan of how to transform their school into an NBS Living Lab following the Whole School Approach.
  • Be introduced to the European sustainability competence framework (GreenComp) which frames the structure of the general and specific goals to pursue through the activities.
  • Reflect on their professional practice, join an active community from all over Europe, and exchange views through a peer-learning process.
  • Discover funding opportunities for capacity building and exchange of good practices through transnational cooperation.
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Description

Over the training days, various topics will be explored, such as:

  • The Whole School Approach as a pathway for integrating NBS in school.
  • The living lab methodology under the framework of open schooling.
  • NBS initiatives and good practices.
  • Practical examples and inquiry-based activities for rethinking STEAM education in the context of environmental challenges.
  • Techniques to integrate NBS into the curriculum and to different disciplines.
  • The links between the formal curriculum and non-formal/informal learning opportunities.
  • The knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students need for the green transition.

On the last day, participants will present the action plan they developed during the week to transform their schools into NBS Living Labs, thereby expanding their practices, promoting sustainability and contributing to climate change education.

Preparation

During the NBS EduWORLD International Course 2025, you will develop an action plan for transforming your school into an NBS Living Lab. Below, you can find material (videos, documents, and presentations) for your preparation.

Fees & Funding

Course fee

The course fee for all ESIA Summer Schools is 480€ (80€/per day) and fully within the funding opportunities of the Erasmus+ Programme.

The course fee covers:

  • Expert lecturers for lectures, seminars and workshops
  • All materials and equipment needed for the course
  • Participation in the social programme & excursions (e.g. Sunset and dinner at Cape Sounio, excursion to the Acropolis and visit to the Acropolis Museum and dinner in downtown Athens, traditional night and farewell dinner, etc.)

Subsistence & accommodation

The Summer School will be held at Golden Coast Hotel & Bungalows, an A-class/ 4-star sea-side hotel which stretches on the golden, sandy beach of the Marathon Bay, near the historic location of Marathon, at the outskirts of Athens.

ESIA has made special arrangement with the hotel and are happy to offer to all participants a single or double room with all-inclusive services (i.e. breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks and free of charge services for outdoors sports and recreational activities).

The costs for subsistence are also within the ceilings of the Erasmus+ programme for KA1 mobility actions.

 

ACCOMMODATION AT GOLDEN COAST HOTEL 2025 (Indicative prices)

COST FOR THE PARTICIPANTS (All Inclusive)

  • Per person in SINGLE:  140 €/per night
  • Per person in DOUBLE:  98 €/per night

Extra persons (All Inclusive)

  • TRIPLE room: 88 €/per person/per night

 

EXTRA SERVICES (the following refers to other project participants that don’t pay the course fee)

TOURS & EXCURSIONS

Cape Sounio Tour (Price:  100 €/per person)
Monday @ 18:00
Includes:

    • Transport by bus (Golden Coast – Cape Sounio – Golden Coast)
    • Guided tour of Poseidon temple with Professional and Lisensed guide
    • Entrance fees of the Temple of Poseidon
    • Lunch at local tavern
    • All taxes

 

Athens tour & Acropolis Museum (Price: 120 €/per person)
Wednesday @ 16:00
Includes:

    • Transport by bus (Golden Coast – Athens – Golden Coast)
    • Short panoramic tour by bus of historic center of Athens
    • Services of a Professional and licensed guide
    • Entrance fees of Acropolis museum
    • Lunch at local tavern
    • All taxes

+ Entrance fees to the Acropolis Archaeological Site ticket cost of 30 €/per person.
+ Entrance fees to the Sounio Archaeological Site ticket cost of 20 €/per person.

*** The above prices are calculated based on current costs, tickets to museums / archeological sites, fuel cost, VAT

Venue

The Summer School will be held at Golden Coast Hotel & Bungalows, an A-class/ 4-star sea-side hotel which stretches on the golden, sandy beach of the Marathon Bay, near the historic location of Marathon, at the outskirts of Athens.

It is the area of Marathon, that has hosted since the times of myths when Theseus killed the terrible bull of Marathon, to the times of the Persian wars and the Battle of Marathon, further on to our days and the marathon race and Marathon Run, the emblematic symbol of man’s quest for freedom and the will to defend his most noble deeds which constitute the foundations of the Human civilization. The plethora of natural, historical sites and museums of the area reveal in all details this unique historical voyage.

Participants are expected to arrive through the Athens International Airport, approximately 25 km (15,53 miles) distance from the hotel.

Learn More…

Erasmus+ - How to Apply

School Heads and Teachers participation in the summer courses can be funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme.

In case your school or organization does not have the funds to cover the costs of your participation in the Summer School, there is another option: you can apply to be funded by by the ERASMUS+ Programme.

Please note that the Erasmus+ KA1 application can only be submitted by the school or the organization – no individual applications can be submitted.

The deadline for application is February 19, 2025.

What is ERASMUS+?

Erasmus+ is the European Commission’s Programme for education, training, youth, and sport for the period 2021-2027. As an integrated programme, Erasmus+ offers more opportunities for the mobility of learners and staff and cooperation across the education, training, and youth sectors and is easier to access than its predecessors, with simplified funding rules and a structure that aims to streamline the administration of the programme.

Erasmus+ Key Action 1 (KA1) provides a unique opportunity for teachers, headmasters, trainers, and other staff of educational institutions to participate in international training courses in different European countries. Schools, universities, vocational education and training, and adult education organizations are all eligible to receive full funding to attend courses under a KA1 mobility grant. The Erasmus+ KA1 grant covers all the costs to attend teacher training courses: including travel, subsistence, and course fee.

For up-to-date information about Erasmus+ please check the Programme’s website. Your school will need to apply to your country’s National Agency, who is also the one who will evaluate the proposal. Therefore, your National Agency is also a very good point to start for more information.

Don’t forget to go through the the New Programme Guide and you will have all you need to know.

The steps to apply for an Erasmus+ KA1 School Education Staff Mobility grant are:

  1. Fill in the registration form to our Summer School with your details. This is an individual registration form, so if there are more than one participant from the same school, each one will have to submit a separate registration form. This way you have reserved a slot in the course in case your application for Erasmus+ funding is successful!
  2. Register your school/organization here: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-esc/index/ , if not already registered.
  3. Check the compliance with the programme criteria
  4. Check the financial conditions
  5. Fill in and submit the application form
  6. Respect the deadline
  7. Do not forget to inform us as soon as you get notified from your National Agency whether your grant application is accepted or rejected.

You can find all related information about submitting an Erasmus+ Application HERE.

We will be happy to guide you through the process.

The hosting organisation of the summer school is Ellinogermaniki Agogi, OID: E10212356