Learning, Teaching, Training Activity 4

Energy Saving

Third day-18th January 2023

The third day started with the interactive workshop "Green Energy", a workshop coordinated by the science teacher in collaboration with the project coordinator from the school.

The activity started with brainstorming about green energy, then they watched some video clips and discussed the causes of the observed effects based on the videos.

Working in international groups, they studied the definition of "Green Energy" from a given text. The students, coordinated by the participating teachers, drew up a list of "green energy" sources.

Then, the students searched online for ecological organizations in their country, then presented them, highlighting their role and objectives in managing environmental issues and preserving it. For the purpose of the evaluation, the teams had to elaborate for 5 minutes a description of a green energy source.

Next, the teacher explained what energy efficiency is, then the students each received a worksheet with a text about ways to increase energy efficiency. Then, an experiment was organized about the importance of thermal insulation.

The students were divided into 4 groups, each group carrying out the experiment. Each group received a jar of hot water, measured and recorded the temperature. In all groups, the water was heated to the same temperature. Then, each group chose a certain type of thermal insulation material and thermally insulated the jar. After 20 minutes, the temperature was measured again and compared to the initial temperature.

A discussion followed about which method of thermal insulation is more effective, but also about what mistakes were made during the experiment and if there are possibilities for improvement. Students observed that up to 80% of energy consumption is spent on maintaining comfortable temperatures. Extrapolating, it was concluded that well-insulated houses do not allow high energy costs and that currently, houses are built that are heated without the use of fossil fuels, because the cold is well insulated and receives the necessary energy from the Sun.

In In the afternoon of the third day, we traveled to Antakya to Expo 2021 Hatay for a case study.

The participants were guided by the park manager. The park was divided into several thematic areas (Garden of Civilizations, Horticulture Greenhouses, Archeopark Area, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Garden, Biological Pond, Plant Museum and Natural Plant Garden).

In the landscape area, the participants had observed the "Antalya Garden", where was emphasized the forest fires that took place in the Manvgat district of Antalya in 2020. The host expert talked about how global warming and climate change accelerated the transformation of nature from green to desert yellow, dried up the flowing streams, and increased the fires and destruction. He explained that in the whole region a dangerous trend towards desertification has been emphasized. He highlighted that the big forest fire in Manvgat District of Antalya in 2020 shows that the effects of global warming are gradually increasing and that in the coming years, desertification will be inevitable due to increased drought, flood, erosion and forest fires due to climate change through the world.

The students acquired information about the impact of climate change on the environment and the effects of global warming.