Third Project Meeting - March 2026, Braga
The Agrupamento de Escolas Terras do Ave (AETA) hosted the Collaborative Workshop in Braga (3–6 March 2026), focusing on enhancing teachers’ ecological and critical thinking skills. This four-day event offered each partner with the opportunity to lead a workshop, fostering the exchange of ideas and practical approaches to teaching sustainability and developing students’ green and digital skills. Teachers from Turkey, Estonia, and Finland participated in the collaborative workshop. The event was part of the Ecoleaders project, co-funded by the European Union.
Teachers from different project countries led workshops on ecological and critical thinking. Portugal team (AETA) gave a lecture on Integrating Ecological Awareness into Education, and participants also explored how robotics and hydroponics can contribute to sustainable development. In addition, teachers took part in sessions such as a workshop led by Estonian teachers titled Workshop on Developing Critical & Ecological Thinking through Project-Based Learning.
Alongside the workshop programme, the project partners also had time to visit Porto, where they explored, among other sights, the Mercado do Bolhão market from the perspective of sustainability.
On the final day, the project partners also had time to visit the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga and, at the same time, learn about the historic funicular, which offers an environmentally friendly way of ascending the hill. The spring flower bloom in Portugal particularly enchanted the teachers from the north, and alongside the rest of the programme, the teachers visited the school’s greenhouse, which is an important part of the school’s environmental education.
The next Ecoleaders project meeting will be held in Turkey in May 2026. Stay tuned for our news and the development of our digital toolkit!
Older News
Second Project Meeting – November 2025, Helsinki
Mlyst hosted the first Learning, Teaching, Training Activity of our project in November 2025 in Helsinki. Teachers and school principals from Turkey, Estonia, and Portugal attended a meeting.
The Ecoleaders project, co-funded by the European Union, strengthens teachers’ leadership by helping them integrate sustainability and digital transformation into their work. It builds their green digital, ecological, critical, and ecolinguistic skills so they are more fully equipped to address environmental challenges and promote environmental awareness in their schools and communities.
During the four-day training in 2025, Mlyst’s CEO Miika Pihkala trained teachers on how to promote sustainable and digital skills in teaching and in schools. The course included digital edtech tools, a digital sustainability curriculum, the design of green and digital lessons, games that teach sustainability, and sustainability action plans. We also learned about Finnish recycling practices and waste-reduction strategies at Kierrätyskeskus recycling centre in Helsinki.
The Helsinki LTTA followed the Ecoleaders project’s first kick-off meeting, which took place in Tartu, Estonia, in June 2025. There we met with the project group for the first time in Estonia and collaboratively planned the project’s next steps and upcoming meetings. Principal Toomas Liivamägi introduced us to the activities and architecture of Luunja Keskkool. During our visit to Tartu we also had time to get to know the Natural History Museum of the University of Tartu and the Estonian National Museum.
First Project Meeting – June 2025, Tartu
Our project’s first meeting was held in June 2025 in the Luunja area of Tartu.
Principal Toomas Liivamägi welcomed the team members from Türkiye,
Finland, and Portugal to Estonia. The international team worked together on planning
the project, upcoming project trips, and the delegation of tasks among the team members.
During the meeting, key responsibilities and timelines for the project were defined.
Toomas Liivamägi introduced the guests to the historic city of Tartu. The visitors explored,
among other places, the University of Tartu Natural History Museum and the Estonian National Museum.
We learned a great deal about the history and present-day life of Tartu and Estonia.
We also had time to visit the University of Tartu Botanical Garden.
.png)