ICELAND:

NATURE AND SUSTAINABILITY EVERYWHERE.

COURSE INFORMATION

ICELAND NATURE EVERYWHERE is a different course exclusively outdoor where you are going to enjoy the amazing environment that this unique island offers. You will get involved in the Icelandic Nature and sustainability at the hands of fantastic guides, the majority of them local ones. Enjoy landscapes and stunning views and learn Icelandic values in an EXCLUSIVE OUTDOOR course.

This course will show you not only stunning places but also you will have the chance to learn sustainability actions so you can prepare an adjusted plan to introduce local Nature in the learning process. A travel journal will be used as a notebook to take notes, inputs, inspiring ideas… of the daily trips. The final goals of the course depends on you and how you live the week: seeing things with open eyes and mind and with a kind curiosity as well will help you to embrace the course and to take the maximum benefit of it. Finally, teachers will summarize the course in a workshop all together making comparisons between Iceland and their own countries.

The course is aimed for teachers and school staff from pre-school level to primary, secondary, vocational, adult and special needs education, staff of non-government organizations, government and policy makers and company staff. Non-native English trainers expecting participants to have at least B1 level of English proficiency.

METHODOLOGY

ICELAND NATURE EVERYWHERE course is based on trips to different places in Iceland, enjoying the time you are in Nature and taking notes about these aspects you consider really important. Human beings can influence Nature but sustainability is a must in the country's development.

The course will have amazing visits, stunning sightseeing, lectures and workshops to ensure full comprehension of the final task. You will receive knowledge about different fields of Education such as Science, Nature, History, Literature, Geography, … thanks to the expert Icelandic guides and visiting stunning places of the island. Everyday you’ll have to register in your travel journal ideas, tips, inputs, … to prepare a script in order to do the final job that every teacher should present on the last day.

Teachers will have the chance to assess the Iceland preservation of Nature and they have to trace a guideline about how to do a similar action in their own country. By the end of the course, participants should know how to preserve their local heritage thanks to the Icelandic experience. To ensure that, participants will work on a travel journey taking notes about inputs received by different guides they will have daily in the course. Furthermore, trainers will make extensive use of evidence-based examples and experiences.

Our experienced trainers will support and stimulate the networking and cooperation among participants. We organize workshops, networking and cultural activities in order to give participants the opportunity to exchange best-practices and establish professional cooperation and links. These activities will take part not only participants of the course but also other participants from different courses attended by the company. The expected training activity has been structured so that the participants can transfer know-how and develop needed skills to create and manage a proposal with real success.

In the end of the course, the company will provide the participants an attendance certificate including the detailed information about the course, e.g. title, programme and schedule. In addition, a Europass Mobility Certificate can be added on request.

MAIN OBJECTIVES

ICELAND NATURE EVERYWHERE course covers all the needs of the project cycle to observe, enjoy and preserve local Nature, putting the focus on sustainability. As a teacher, you will have to adapt the Icelandic experience to your personal situation and your own reality in order to create a personal proposal of how to do a similar thing in your country. The plan will start by observing the facts and by writing the highlights of the trips, getting some inspiration from them. After that, you will think and develop your thoughts and future ideas by designing a possible draft that you will share at the week with the rest of your colleagues. Finally, you present your plan to the group sharing a nice cappuccino in a beautiful coffee shop in the city. This process will improve your initial idea for sure, receiving feedback and other useful thoughts from the group. In detail, the concrete goals of the course are:

To improve the knowledge about how to create preservation projects in order to foster European integration based on local culture.
To empower and to train teachers, education staff and those interested in preserving local Nature.
To acquire a great experience based on local guidance and guided trips and be able to transfer the good practices in a satisfactory way to their own school centers.
To strengthen European collaboration and real networking among participants in the course.
To share experiences of local collaboration and national projects from different organizations in order to be more effective in our sustainability proposal.

Thanks to this course the participants will:

Improve their practical skills related to the preservation of Nature.
Meet very interesting teachers and acquire great knowledge about other local cultures.
Learn how they should work with students, families and local administration in order to create a common objective.
Make contacts with new partners interested in developing Local European Preservation Projects.

By the end of the course, each participant should be able to:

Pass from the idea of the local action to write a proposal in order to do it.
Embrace the concept of working together and following simple guidelines.
Motivate their students in Nature and culture preservation.

DAILY PROGRAMME

Staff of the company welcomes participants on Sunday afternoon and gives them all the information about courses and Erasmus week. The main training activities, instruction and practices will take place from Monday to Friday. Moreover, participants will be able to create a network and work all together to set up future eTwinnings or even Job Shadowing in the future. On another note, participants will be involved in cultural activities held by the company during afternoon time. Finally, there will be a course’ roundup and a final evaluation on Saturday morning and the delivery of the certificates of attendance.

Please find below the standard indicative daily programme.

DAY 1 – SUNDAY. INTRODUCTION.

- Meeting and greeting with the manager of the company, trainers and locals.

- Individual orientation and information about the venue and the country.

- Round up presentation and networking between all participants.

- Guided city tour.

DAY 2 – MONDAY. ICELANDIC NATURE EVERYWHERE. SOUTH COAST & JÖKULSÁRLÓN GLACIER LAGOON TOUR: SÓLHEIMAJÖKULL, CASCADES, BLACK SAND AND DIAMOND BEACH.

- A 14 hours tour. Walk along the black sand beach to explore the basalt columns, get up close to feel the mist of the majestic waterfalls and breathe in the fresh, icy air from the surrounding glaciers. Seeing the glacier from the outside is a unique experience. During the day trip you’ll visit Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss as well arriving till the Diamond coast. This is the best way for learning about the Nature in Iceland: Wherever you look, the views are breathtaking!

DAY 3 – TUESDAY. AMAZING VISITS TO LEARN LESSONS FROM THE HISTORY AND NATURE.

- Árbær Open Air Museum: a World of Experiences. The past is filled with learning opportunities to shape our future. The museum is committed to sustainability and recycling.

- Visit to The Pearl Museum, which is a must-visit for everyone, not only for the world-class museum but also for its incredible architecture and panoramic views over Reykjavík. The Pearl is the Number 1 attraction in Reykjavík, a Nature Exploratorium of the Wonders of Iceland where you can enjoy the Northern Lights Planetarium show, a Volcano show and visit the Ice Cave.

DAY 4 – WEDNESDAY. PRESERVING NATURE IN ICELAND.

- Hot Spring Thermal River: This is a 4-hour hiking route to a natural hot spring to get relaxed from the magnificent landscape that you’ll find surrounding you. A pedestrian walk to learn by yourself about how beautiful Nature can be and the need to preserve it.

DAY 5 – THURSDAY. ICELANDIC STYLE OF LIVING WITHIN A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH.

Enjoy the environment and learn about sustainability in real life by visiting these two amazing places created both by and from Nature. A really good example about Icelandic essentials and their connections with sustainability and Nature.

- Seltún. The colourful Geothermal Area at Krysuvik on the Reykjanesskagi peninsula. There is no describing what Nature offers us in geothermal areas; you just have to see it for yourself.

- Guided visit to Íslenski bærinn Turf Farm: back to the Icelandic past in a fantastic scenario. Nature dependet people and coexistence between human and wildlife: in the spirit of Nature, everything is connected.

DAY 6 – FRIDAY. NATURE & WILDLIFE EVERYWHERE.

- A 12-hour tour. Westman island: Eldfell volcano hiking tour and puffins everywhere. Best kept secret in Iceland where seabird life is very rich and bountiful, being the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the world.

DAY 7 – SATURDAY. YOUR PERSONAL ‘ICELAND NATURE EVERYWHERE’ PROGRAMME AND CONCLUSION OF THE WEEK.

- Workshop in a beautiful coffee shop in the city: time to plan your own Nature everywhere programme in teamwork.

- Dissemination and presentation of the plans: each team will present their own project.

- Delivering official course certifications.

- Participants departure.

DATES

CULTURE AND HERITAGE course will attend sessions during 2024 and 2025 in following dates:

2024:

ICELAND – REYKJAVÍK:

From Sunday 6th October to Saturday 12th.
From Sunday 13th October to Saturday 19th.
From Sunday 20th October to Saturday 26th.

2025:

ICELAND – REYKJAVÍK:

From Sunday 23rd February to Saturday 1st March.
From Sunday 2nd March to Saturday 8th.
From Sunday 13th April to Saturday 19th.
From Sunday 20th April to Saturday 26th.
From Sunday 27th April to Saturday 3rd May.
From Sunday 22nd June to Saturday 28th.
From Sunday 29th June to Saturday 5th July.
From Sunday 6th July to Saturday 12th.
From Sunday 13th July to Saturday 19th.
From Sunday 20th July to Saturday 26th.
From Sunday 10th August to Saturday 16th.
From Sunday 17th August to Saturday 23rd.
From Sunday 24th August to Saturday 30th.
From Sunday 5th October to Saturday 11th.
From Sunday 12th October to Saturday 18th.
From Sunday 19th October to Saturday 25th.
From Sunday 26th October to Saturday 1st November.
From Sunday 2nd November to Saturday 8th.

COST AND ERASMUS FUNDING

The cost of the seven day course is 640€ and includes course fees, free cultural activities in the city during the week and certification of attendance. Organizational costs can be charged if registration comes from an intermediate company. Besides, South Coast on Tuesday is included as well in the course contents. Moreover, the company offers an Optional cultural package to deepen the relationship between all participants.

The training course is tailored to be fully funded by Erasmus + to teachers, trainers, headmasters and any other staff of education organizations. Furthermore trainers can help in Key Action 1 Application to ensure that participants can get the grant and could be eligible to receive an Erasmus + grant that covers all the costs of the course.