ECOLEADERS: Empowering teachers for a sustainable future - May 2026
Aydın Ticaret Borsası Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi hosted the Collaborative Workshop for Eco-Linguistic Skills in Aydın, Türkiye, from 19-22 May 2026. The final event brought together teachers from Estonia, Finland, Portugal, and Türkiye to explore how eco-linguistics, storytelling, critical thinking, and sustainability can be integrated into education to promote environmental awareness and responsible citizenship.
The workshop began with collaborative planning sessions and discussions on the project's key outputs, including the Green Digital Teaching Toolkit, Eco-Critical Leadership Guide, Ecolinguistic Resource Pack, and Green Digital & Eco-Linguistic Action Plan. Partners reviewed progress and contributed to the development of these resources.
The Estonian team introduced participants to the basic concepts of eco-linguistics, focusing on how language reflects our relationship with the environment and shapes sustainable practices. The Turkish team led workshops on The Power of Storytelling for Ecological Awareness. Participants explored how storytelling can strengthen ecological literacy and environmental responsibility.
The Finnish team facilitated sessions on Eco-Linguistics and Critical Thinking in Education, encouraging participants to identify biased or misleading environmental language in media, advertisements, and public discourse.
On the final day, the Portuguese team guided participants in developing Eco-Linguistic Action Plans for Schools and explored ways of integrating eco-linguistic approaches into school curricula.
In addition to the educational programme, participants enjoyed a cultural visit to Kuşadası, strengthening intercultural understanding and partnership cooperation. The mobility concluded with a reflection and evaluation session, followed by a certificate ceremony celebrating the participants' contributions and achievements.
The workshop represented an important final milestone for the Eco-Leaders project, equipping teachers with innovative tools and approaches to promote sustainability, critical ecological awareness, and environmentally responsible communication in schools.
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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!
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.
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