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The international Erasmus+ KA220-SCH project “Footprint Innovators: Schools Leading Sustainability” (FOOTIN) (Project number: 2025-1-LT01-KA220-SCH-000360336) aims to help schools understand and reduce their environmental impact. Within the framework of the project, a digital calculator for measuring the ecological footprint will be developed, as well as teaching materials to promote awareness of sustainability for students aged 15-19, based on Design Thinking.

Project objectives:

• promote awareness of the ecological footprint and it measurement;
• foster sustainable behaviours among students and staff;
• promote Design Thinking to identify and implement sustainability solutions;
• raise awareness of sustainability and encourage change in educational communities.

Since the launch of the project, focus group interviews have been conducted in Latvia with students and teachers from educational institutions on sustainability issues. Analysing the results of the student interviews, it was concluded that students have an understanding of sustainability. However, despite their existing knowledge, they acknowledged that this knowledge is not always applied in practice, mainly due to a lack of motivation. Students expressed a desire to use digital tools and a simplified ecological footprint calculator that would help them better understand and measure their impact on the environment.

In turn, the interviewed teachers and educational institution staff acknowledged that integrating sustainability issues into the learning process is essential, but there is often a lack of both time and suitable methodological materials and digital tools that are easy to use and adapt to different subjects. Teachers indicated that they need practical support and training to be able to effectively engage students in sustainability topics and use digital tools, such as the ecological footprint calculator, in their daily work. They also emphasized that cooperation with other teachers and the exchange of experience are very valuable, and they expressed appreciation for the project’s offer to develop an interdisciplinary methodological framework that would facilitate the inclusion of education for sustainable development in various subjects.

The project is coordinated by HOBIVERSE (Lithuania). Together with Daugavpils University, the four other partners are participating in the project: Klaipedas University (Lithuania); the International Training centre Biderbost, Boscan & Rochin, S.L.(Spain); the social enterprise ELEAF(Italy); and the training centreRCE Oldenburger Münsterland(Germany).

More about the project: https://footprintinnovators.eu/

Additional information:
Dr. Mārite Kravale-Pauliņa, FootIN project coordinator at Daugavpils University, leading researcher, e-mail: marite.kravale@du.lv  and Liene Briede, e-mail: liene.briede@du.lv