The Icelandic Erasmus+ National Agency awarded in total fourteen project grants on 14 October 2021, including a €320.000 grant to the UPCYCLING project led by Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark and partnered by amongst others GeoCamp Iceland. These are the first projects to receive grants after the new Erasmus+ programme launched which will bring over €26.2 billion to support mobility and cooperation in the years 2021-2027.
 
The UPCYCLING project - which officially starts in February 2022 and runs for 30 months - will focus on ways to generate less waste and create value-added products in a creative way. The objectives will be to develop and disseminate educational material on climate change and recycling for primary schools. This is the first Erasmus+ project to be led by Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark and the first time GeoCamp Iceland participates in an Erasmus+ partnership.
 
"With the project we are strengthening further our cooperation with Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark with focus on educational development in the area" says Arnbjorn Olafsson, Managing Director of GeoCamp Iceland. "We've previously been working with Sudurnes Science and Learning Center on developing international Science Camps in Reykjanes, and we are currently working with Keilir Academy in Iceland as well as the Technical University of Liberec and Geopark Ralsko in the Czech Republic on developing educational and training material for geo-teachers. Along with this first Erasmus+ project we participate in we hope to be able to generate increased interest in earth science and climate change, as well as encourage young people to actively take part in understanding the World they live in and the Earth they live on."
 
Along with the two Icelandic partners, other partners in the UPCYCLING project include Polygonal in Italy, Nefinia in the Netherlands, Open Europe in Spain, Agrupamento de Escolas do Barreiro in Portugal and Szkola Podstawowa in Poland.

GEOCAMP - SUPPORTING GEOLOGY TEACHING TOWARDS ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP is a project is funded by the EEA and Norway Grants scheme. The project is a partnership between Technical University of Liberec and Ralsko Geopark in the Czech Republic, and Keilir Academy and GeoCamp in Iceland.

The two-year project will bring new innovative teaching programmes and methods in the field of the sciences and geology. Above all, we will integrate an interdisciplinary approach and methods of locally-based teaching into the educational framework, thus promoting active citizenship and environmental responsibility.

​We respond to the very current challenge of equipping future educators not only with specific knowledge of biology and geology, but also with the ability to explain current phenomena such as climate change or drought in their entire environmental context. Only in this way can the teachers prepare their pupils for the challenges of the future and support their competence to take personal responsibility and act in the interests of environmental protection.

First project meeting in Liberec in September 2021
Project partners met for the first time in September in a meeting hosted by the Czech partners, Technical University of Liberec and Ralsko Geopark.

Spend nine magical days developing geographic inquiry skills in Iceland June 28 - July 8, 2022. NCGE - The National Council for Geographic Education offers - in partnership with GeoCamp Iceland - a graduate-level equivalent, short course in geographic inquiry and field methods for in-service teachers and education professionals. Iceland’s extraordinary and unique landscapes will be our classroom and laboratory.

For more information please visit: https://ncge.org/professional-development/geocamp-iceland