"A geopark is an open-air laboratory in which pupils, students and geo-tourists can discover and get familiar with the geological features. There are many opportunities to visit the Geopark area and get to know its rich geological heritage. A landscape is designated a geopark if it has a geological, archaeological, cultural, historical and ecological heritage of particular significance, rarity or beauty.There are currently 147 UNESCO Global Geoparks and 276 National Geoparks in the Asia Pacific and Europe. Geoparks empower local communities and give them the opportunity to develop cohesive partnerships with the common goal of promoting the area’s significant geological processes, features, periods of time, historical themes linked to geology, or outstanding geological beauty. Geoparks are established through a bottom-up process involving all relevant local and regional stakeholders and authorities in the area. The main work is on the educational institution's responsibilities. We aim to move together on the global issue to raise awareness about Geoparks sustainability and awareness.We all dealing to be eco-friendly schools by serving targets of EU2020. Climate change and energy is a core topic of the EU 2020 strategy target:-greenhouse gas emissions 20% lower than 1990 levels-20% of energy coming from renewables-20% increase in energy efficiencyIn the line of EU 2020, the main aims of the project ""GOAL"" are:1-to help students to focus on issues relating to the natural environment (climate change, Renewable Energy, recycling)2-to work with Geoparks to find solutions to environmental problems3-to find solutions to global problems with educational curriculums4-to exchange the good practices/experiences for being Eco-friendly Geoschools5-to provide our students gain critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making skills6-to learn different teaching methods of geology from experienced geoscientist, experts, geopark employees7-to increase the academic achievements of the students in STEM lessons via GeoparksWe are 6 countries involved in the project: Hungary, Croatia, Turkey, Spain, Romania, Italy. With the project (Geoparks as Open Air Laboratoriteries -GOAL) we are planning 6 LTT activities: with pupils(11-15 years old) and 2 teachers from each partner countries. The first 4 LTT activities will be with 4 pupils others with 5 pupils from each country. 20 students with disadvantages will take part in the 6 LTT activities.1st LTT will be on Hungary (Újlaki Általános Iskola )2nd LTT will be on Turkey(Mersinli Şehit Ahmet Uludağ Ortaokulu)3rd LTT will be on Croatia(Osnovna Skola Jabukovac)4th LTT will be on Romania(Scoala Gimnaziala Radu Tudoran)5th LTT will be on Spain(C.E.I.P. Lapachar)6th LTT will be on Italy(IC 21 Marzo)During the mobilities at Unesco Geoparks, we will use experimental and project based-learning methods. We will observe flora, fauna, fossils, minerals, nature of Novahrad, Papuk, Hateg, Kula, Madoine, Sierra Norte de Sevilla Unesco Geoparks. Some sessions will be actualized in science labs and others at geopark areas with geologists, palaeontologists, experts. Teamworks and workshops will be organized on Dinosaurs fossils, minerals, orogenesis etc.We plan to make studies that are trying to produce solutions to ecological and environmental problems using Geoparks. Each of these problems involves using geo-parks with project-based learning methodology for covering areas of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths). The partnership will produce a number of end products as:-Project Blog/FB page/FB group-School Geopark Clubs and Teams-E-guide of 6 Geoparks-Twinning project and events-Project Logo&motto-Promotional products-Sets of lesson plans-booklet/brochuresVersatile Contributions of the GOAL project aspected in short and long-term for our schools. In the long term, for our schools, this project will contribute-increasing the usage rate of the Geopark & geology activities at school curricula-Raising awareness of environmental issues and boosting Geoparks as Open Air Laboratories-integrating Geoparks through teaching Ecological and environmental subjects into all lectures-increasing the projects on the theme of global environmental challenges and climate change-developing environmental issues included projects that will be beneficial to the environment and natureSchools will learn good practices about geo-challenges from the different education systems to be GEO-SCHOOLS. They will have an increase in the rate of Geopark and environmental projects. (1st year 3%, 2nd year 5%) and give more effective schoolteaching via Geosciences. Teachers will be able to help to make the planet greener via Geopark Awareness Activities. By the project students and teachers be aware of the importance of protection Geoparks because of their values. The project will serve for students providing outdoor laboratories for formal, traditional education and researches."

There were two crucial elements that gave shape to this project proposal: the excellent, long-lasting relationship between most of the partners, and the needs and priorities of the partners’ communities, schools and principally, students. Common grounds and key-reasons were found during the Live Events organised on the eTwinning platform and the Facebook group. These were: the will to expand the successful work started in the eTwinning project “Herit@ge Matters”; the importance of valuing our European eco-cultural heritage, while contributing to the improvement of our students’ social and economic expectations; the need to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots; the need to engage our students and educational institutions in more civic actions as a way to creating more responsibility and entrepreneurship; the need to nurture a feeling of belonging to a bigger entity - Europe.Our goal is to contribute towards a higher awareness of the importance of local and European Eco-cultural Heritage. We will foster an inclusive, whole-school-and-community approach. We will promote group / team-work (“Eco-clubs”) and social responsibility, with the 21st Century Skills in mind. We will nurture a Love for Nature and “Green” Sports. We want to reduce the number of students leaving school too early by enabling success for all through informal and non-formal learning. The partner teachers want to learn how to use new tools and try different teaching & learning approaches. This will partly be achieved during the initial face-to-face Coordinators Meeting, which is crucial to the whole project process and development.The project will involve as many students as possible, of which about 73 face different types of disadvantaged situations. We intend to involve about 120 students in the project’s mobilities. The big majority of the students will be 12 to 15 years of age.The objectives of the project will be achieved through the planned activities. Creating the Eco-clubs and “keeping them alive” is a crucial part - the club members will be responsible for making Plogging Bags to use during the Orienteering / Geocaching activities, do research work and select /prepare information to use in the eco-touristic tours (for the QR-Code initiative), and create collaborative products with their foreign peers via our joint eTwinning project (videos, posters, recipes, magazine, project site, among others). Multilingual Phrasebooks will be put together by the students with the help of their English teachers - they will be very useful during the mobilities, and will contribute to the learning of specific vocabulary linked to the topics of the project. Students will practice singing their National Anthem (for the mobilities) and will prepare and give presentations about their home country. They will try “green” sports and outdoor activities. They will be incentivised to recognise sustainable sources of tourism and jobs, locally and during the mobilities, and debate about them. Multinational teams will have tasks to develop during the mobilities (photo-safari, video-making). After each mobility, the students involved will prepare a Talk to show their school and community what they experienced and learnt when abroad. The project implementation will focus mainly in a PBL, hands-on approach. Students will work mainly in national and multinational teams. The goals, tasks and roles will be clearly defined and there will be periodic task-accomplishment assessment followed by adjustments, when necessary. There will be records to help us keep on track. The role of all the partners will be equally important and we will depend and rely on each other. We believe that this type of methodology is the best to develop the much needed 21st Century Skills, and to make sure that all the students will have a chance to cooperate, collaborate and integrate, strengthen their self- confidence and self-esteem and help them overcome obstacles. During the Coordinators Meeting, teachers will learn essential skills, assign monitoring roles, and anticipate potential problems / obstacles and solutions, as well as plan the mobilities. A short film will be made after each mobility and a Talk will be given by the participants in their schools / communities. The collaborative products will be public (the QR-Codes, films, site, plogging bags) and the skills learnt and used throughout the project will be useful in the future. Students will acquire new, long-term, transversal skills (entrepreneurial, ecological, cultural and others), and a stronger motivation not to leave school. Teachers will come out enriched with new methodologies and transversal skills. Schools will be internationalised, enriched by the new experiences, more connected with the local and global community and more linked to ecology and cultural approaches. The “Eco- clubs” will be a Plus for more than two years and will directly impact on school life after the end of the project.