Blue Countries - Newsletter #4

After a long summer, the beginning of the new school year found all participants preparing for the much anticipated mobility to Estonia.
The second year of the Blue Countries Erasmus+ programme started with the meeting at Tartu, Estonia.

On Monday 14th, students and teachers from Ireland, Italy, Greece, Poland and Romania arrived at the Tartu Raatuse Kool, where the Estonian students welcomed the Blue Countries visitors with music and songs at the conference room.

Later all partners presented their project on the pollution of water resources in their region. Interesting things were said about how each area is polluted and how the problem of pollution is dealt with.

One of the highlights of the mobility was the school itself. Estonian students toured visitors around the impressive facilities of the school.

The day continued at the city center, sightseeing the town and learning about the town history. Interesting architecture, the river, bridges and statues drew the participants attention.

The first day activities ended with a visit at the Tartu Nature House. Students and teachers learned about the importance of the Baltic Sea. Working in groups they studied Baltic Sea fish, the dangers of sea pollution and the ways of its protection.

The second day, Tuesday 15th, early in the morning all groups met at school to start their trip to Võrtsjärv lake and the Võrtsjärve Study Center of Estonian University of Life Sciences. Despite the cold weather, everyone enjoyed the raft ride in the lake while later in the warm premises of the Study Center students participated in a fish workshop, played games and crafted fish with threads. An interesting project was also the workshop of the moss herbarium. (photo)

After lunch, all participants travelled back to Tartu to visit AHHAA Centre. Amazing things happened there with both students and teachers occupied themselves in science experiments. Students in groups joined the Chocolate Laboratory, where they created their own favourite chocolate. Polish, Irish and Romanian students were the first to enter the Planetarium to watch a film about the planetary system while later the Greek and the Italian teams enjoyed the same show.

That day ended with the sense and belief that the Blue Countries programme is worth every minute spent in every activity. Many new places, many new experiences!

The Endla Nature Reserve was the destination of the third day, Wednesday 16th. Students and teachers experienced the unique landscape of the bogs walking on the wooden bridges that connected the numerous small islands. All students measured the depth of the bog waters and experimented on the quality of the water. An important remark was that the peat moss at the bogs can filter the water eliminating the bacteria in it. Interestingly enough, students were challenged to drink this clean water.

In the afternoon Greek and Italian students had a free afternoon to spend with the host families while Irish, Polish and Romanian students visited the Crazy Scientist to do some experiments on the qualities of water. Three workshops focused on the various states of the water molecule, on the ways heat and density change the water structure and finally, on the water as solvent.

Thursday 17th was the last day of the mobility in Tartu. While students were resting, coordinators had the meeting to decide on the future activities. As soon as this meeting was over, students and teachers visited the unexpected Upside Down House. Everyone had a great fun there sitting on the ceiling or having tables above their heads.

The next stop of the final day sightseeing was the Estonian National Museum. A history of about 1.000 years unfolded the life and everyday activities of people living on the land of Estonia.

The end of the day had Greek and Italian students experimenting with the Crazy Scientist at the University while the group of the Polish, Irish and Romanian had a free afternoon.

When asked about the Estonian mobility, all students answered that they were thrilled with the various activities and of course, the school facilities. New places, new experiences, new knowledge and new friendships... the highlights of those days

See you all in Rethymno, Greece in March