Erasmus+ Green Special Ambassador Patrizia Fiala Interview: Goals for Environmental Protection and Sustainability

Patrizia Fiala, Austria's first Erasmus+ GREEN special ambassador, has been actively working in the fields of environmental protection and sustainability for 12 years. As an early childhood educator, she teaches at the Pedagogical University of Burgenland and works at the Gloggnitz Primary School. Fiala shares her goals and how she implements the Erasmus+ program's priorities for environmental protection and combating climate change.

As a GREEN ambassador, Fiala aims to make sustainability a fixed part of the quality plan for as many schools as possible, following the example of her school in Gloggnitz. She carries out various sustainability projects each year at her school and seeks to inspire other schools to follow suit.

Fiala emphasizes the importance of environmental awareness in education, stating that it is essential to instill this consciousness in individuals of all ages. She believes that engaging children through age-appropriate activities that spark curiosity is much more effective than applying pressure or coercion.

At the Pedagogical University of Burgenland, a program called "Learning Space Nature" has been implemented, which provides students with practical training on how to effectively teach environmental topics. Additionally, she highlights the importance of collaborating with local organizations to develop more effective projects that address environmental protection from various perspectives.

Fiala points out that it is quite simple to incorporate environmental protection as a priority in every project. This can include selecting "green travel" methods during project development, emphasizing values like waste separation and avoiding plastics among project partners, and ensuring environmental considerations are integrated into all project activities. She suggests forming an active environmental group to oversee these efforts throughout the project.

Finally, Fiala discusses how environmental protection and civic engagement can be interconnected, providing practical examples from her work in schools and higher education institutions.

This interview highlights the importance of raising awareness about environmental protection and sustainability in education and aims to spread Fiala's goals to a broader audience.

For more information and additional resources, please visit the following website: https://erasmusplus.oead.at/en/policy-support/erasmus-blog/detail/2024/03/erhalt-und-schutz-der-umwelt-betrifft-uns-alle