CC Conference BIO-ALERT: what nature is telling us ?

Aims and skills targeted :

to raise awareness of the need to protect the environment

to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the region’s biodiversity

to encourage pupils to become more environmentally friendly

to learn to behave in an ethical and responsible manner and use your knowledge to explain the impacts of human activity on health and the environment

A conference entitled “Bio-Alert: what nature is telling us?” was held. The first panel featured the Mayor, Paulo Vicente, and the Councillor for Education, Carla Santana, who, together with the Headteacher of the Marinha Grande Nascente School Group, Nuno Cruz, and the Erasmus+ Project Coordinator at Pinhal do Rei Secondary School, Dora Anjinho, opened the conference.

The second panel featured presentations on research carried out by students from various countries, focusing on native and invasive species.

The students from various countries presented a survey of the native and invasive species in their respective regions. Each delegation described local preventive measures aimed at preserving native flora and fauna or eradicating invasive species. In addition, as part of this research, the students carried out practical activities to control invasive species or plant native species, sharing photographic and video records of these activities with the public.

For the third panel, we were joined by André Fonseca from IPL – University of Leiria, who spoke on the topic ‘CSI Freshwater: Decoding the Underwater Clues Left by Macroinvertebrates’. Anabela Veiga and Sandra Mourato presented the project ‘Breath In: Integrating Environmental Education, School Activities and Citizen Science on Air Quality’.

To present the project Breath In: Breathing Better Begins in the Classroom, we were joined by students from our school, Eric Cheng and Constança Palhares.

Results: The event successfully achieved its aim of raising awareness, resulting in a clear call to action against biodiversity loss and the degradation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The main conclusion was that it was urgent to adopt sustainable practices and that there was a collective need to preserve the planet’s natural resources.