Environmental Literacy Network

ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY NETWORKING PROJECT

The “Environmental Literacy Networking Project” is a project implemented by Yuva Association (Turkey) and Kyoto Club (Italy) within the European Union Civil Society Facility and Media – Support to Civil Society Networks and Platforms in Turkey.

The Support to Civil Society Networks and Platforms Program aims to empower active citizenship and strengthen civil society by contributing to the development of a vibrant civil society by encouraging more active democratic participation in policy and decision-making processes and by promoting a culture of fundamental rights and dialogue. It is financed by the European Union under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance II (IPA II).

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE AND ACTIVITY CLUSTERS OF THE PROJECT

The specific objective of the project is to bring CSOs from Turkey and EU together around the shared concern of protecting the environment and combating climate change. These actors will come together under this network in order to exchange knowledge, experience and/or resources for shared learning in the field of environment and climate change and conduct, disseminate and advocate sustainability and ecological literacy (SEL) and climate change literacy (CCL) education programmes for citizens in general and public bodies in particular.

Three activity clusters serve the achievement of the abovementioned specific objective:

• Education Networking covering activities relating to the establishment of a network of CSOs around environmental literacy education.
• Awareness-raising Networking covering awareness raising activities of the established network through environmental literacy education programmes.
• Advocacy Networking covering advocacy activities of the network members through the dissemination of environmental literacy education programmes to public bodies.

ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY NETWORK

The “Environmental Literacy Network” (ELN) has been established within the framework of the project. Implemented activities within the scope of this network are in line with the following goals:

• Develop and implement environmental literacy education programs in the field of sustainability and ecological literacy and climate change literacy for young adults and children,
• Develop and organize organizational and institutional capacity building trainings and workshops on communication, campaigning and advocacy for the network member organizations,
• Conduct joint activities and advocacy activities as well as develop strategic cooperation with local and/or national authorities.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

The project encompasses the following activities:

• An opening ceremony to introduce the project,
• The establishment of the Global Literacy Network (KOZA) with CSOs,
• Four workshops on organizational and institutional capacity development with 35 participants each,
• The design of the curriculum of Sustainable and Ecological Literacy (SEL) and the Climate Change Literacy (CCL) trainings for children and young adults,
• Four Training of Trainers with the participation of 24 volunteers each,
• Four capacity building workshops on communication and campaigning with 35 participants each,
• 55 dissemination trainings in various cities across Turkey and with the participation of 960 people in total,
• Social media campaigns and the production an animation for children in order to raise environmental awareness,
• Four capacity building workshops on advocacy with 35 participants each,
• Three study visits to institutions in various cities in the EU in order to observe best practices.

The Environmental Literacy Network, which we started in 2020 as YUVA in partnership with the Kyoto Club, currently has 55 members. You can review the list below to learn more about our members and their work.

Click to join the Environmental Literacy Network.

Ali İsmail Korkmaz Foundation	Hatay
Wasteless Love	İstanbul
Workshop Trial Art and Ecological Work Association	İzmir
Balıkesir Sustainable Development and Environment Association	Balıkesir
Bambu Association	Ankara
Bandırma City Council	Balıkesir
Another School is Possible	İstanbul
Bayraklı Municipality	İzmir
Buca Municipality	İzmir
Buğday Support to Ecological Life Association	İstanbul
Çanakkale Koza Youth Association	Çanakkale
The Foundation for the Protection and Promotion of Environment and Cultural Heritage (ÇEKÜL)	İstanbul
Environment, Urban and Regional Development Application and Research Center	Erzincan
Circle Up	İstanbul
Comune di Foiano di Val Fortore	Benevento
Çukurova Young Entrepreneur Business People Association	Mersin
Çukurova People, Seed and Earth Workshop	Mersin
Nature and Sustainability Association	Ankara
Natural Life Association	Ankara
Four Seasons Lifelong Play and Learning Association	İzmir
Long Live World Association	Ankara
Edremit Municipality	Balıkesir
Chamber of Physics Engineers	Ankara
Share the Future Civil Initiative	İzmir
Youth Development and Entrepreneurship Association	Sakarya
Youth Services Center	Ankara
South Marmara Protection of Cultural and Natural Environment Association, Bandırma Branch	Balıkesir
Hacettepe Environment Community	Ankara
Support to Life Association	İstanbul
İmece Network	İstanbul
Climate Pioneers
İzmir Municipality Social Projects Department	İzmir
K-GEM Woman and Young Entrepreneurship Center	Ankara
KODA, Village Schools Exchange Network	İstanbul
Kyoto Club	Roma
Mezitli City Council	Mersin
Mikado Consulting	İstanbul
NATURA Nature and Culture Protection Association	Ankara
METU Green Campus Community	Ankara
Teachers Academy Foundation	İstanbul
Ören Adremytteion Association	Balıkesir
Roots and Shoots Turkey	İstanbul
Nine Villages Development and Social Enterprise Cooperative	Çanakkale
Health and Climate Change Association	Ankara
Youth Beyond Borders Association YOBBA	İstanbul
Social Climate Association	İzmir
SUYADER, Sustainable Life Association	Ankara
Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurship Assocaition	İzmir
Seed Education Culture and Nature Association	Ankara
Community Volunteers Foundation	İstanbul
TEDGA Movement, Development, Research and Monitoring of Social and Ecological Dialogue	Ankara
Troya Environment Association	Çanakkale
Consumer Protection Association	Balıkesir
Turkish Society of HVAC and Sanitary Engineers (TTMD)	Ankara
Turkish Environmental Education Foundation, TÜRÇEV	Ankara
Volunteers Centre Skopje	Üsküp
WWF Turkey Office	İstanbul
Yaren Cooperative	İzmir
Green Circle	Berlin
Green Future Association	İstanbul
Youthographia	Eskişehir
YUVA	İstanbul
My Home Earth Association	İstanbul

2020

OPENING CONFERENCE: Following the start of our project, we organized an opening conference and launched the Environmental Literacy Network (ELN) on the 1st of July 2020. Following the webinar which was organized as a webinar due to pandemic, we came together with the first ELN member via a network initiation and introduction meeting organized on the 13th of August 2020.

CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOPS: We organized four workshops based on the needs of the network member organizations. These workshops covered financial sustainability and monitoring, evaluation and social impact and were organized in September and October 2020, respectively.

DISSEMINATION TRAININGS: We completed the environmental education curriculum with the suggestions of the network member organizations. Our education curriculum is composed of two dissemination training modules: Climate Literacy and Sustainability and Ecological Literacy. We organized five online dissemination trainings in November and December 2020 and we reached 88 young adults with these trainings.

TRAINING OF TRAINERS. We organized one online training of trainers for the environmental literacy trainings with the participation of 23 ELN member organization representatives on 16-17-18 December and 23-24 December 2020.

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2021

CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOPS AND ELN MEETINGS: In 2021, we held capacity building workshops on campaigns and communication. We repeated the workshops for new KOZA members in November 2021. We also organized online KOZA Meetings to learn more from each other as KOZA members.

DISSEMINATION TRAININGS: Our dissemination trainings continued at full speed in 2021. We reached 604 young adults by organizing 11 sustainability and ecological literacy trainings and 8 climate literacy trainings throughout the year. 98.60% of the participants who participated in the evaluation form at the end of 2021 stated that they learned new information that they could transfer to their daily lives.

TRAINING OF TRAINERS: We held the second training of trainers online on 19-23 December 2021. 19 of the KOZA member representatives completed the training and our trainer pool grew.

ANIMATION CAMPAIGN: In 2021, with the support of an advisory board made up of KOZA members, we produced animation videos for children on climate change, biodiversity and environmental sustainability. We established an animation social media campaign working group in December 2021 and planned the details of our campaign. As twelve KOZA organizations, we spread the videos on social media. We reached 125,473 people through all three videos.

Environmental Literacy Networking (ELN) Project Training Programs

Environmental Literacy Training of Trainers

Purpose of the Program:

The aim of this training is to create a pool of trainers for the “Sustainability and Ecological Literacy”, and “Climate Literacy” dissemination training carried out within the scope of the project. Only people recommended by ELN member organizations can attend the training. In this five-day training, the up-to-date scientific information on sustainability, ecological literacy, and climate literacy is shared with participants with participatory methods. While the content of the program to be implemented in the dissemination training is transferred practically, the communication skills of the participants are also supported. After completing the program, information and experience sharing continue through regular meetings with the trainers added to the ELN trainers pool. The dissemination training carried out during the project are carried out with the trainers from ELN trainers pool and an expert from Yuva Learning Center team.

Dissemination Training

Environmental Literacy Training for Adults

Sustainability and Ecological Literacy

Purpose of the Program:

With this training, it is aimed that participants

• learn about the impact of human lifestyle on the planet and realize the importance of sustainability for all living things to lead a just life on the Earth,
• question and transform the consequences of their actions in their daily lives,
• have a hopeful, optimistic, realistic and constructive perspective despite all negative developments.

Target Audience: 18+

Duration of Training: 4 hours

Program:

Opening and Introduction (20 min.)

Expectations and Program Sharing (10 min.)

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Session 1: Hello Earth(ling) (60 min.)

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Session 2: Our Path Without a Trace (60 min.)

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Session 3: Where Do I Stand? (70 min.)

Written Evaluation and Closing (20 min.)

Climate Literacy

Purpose of the Program:

With this training, it is aimed that participants

• recognize how human activities affect the climate and the impact and possible future effects of climate change on the planet, ecosystems, and people/society,
• learn the importance of limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5 °C and what needs to be done on a global scale in the fight against climate change,
• know that their actions in their daily lives leave a carbon footprint on the planet and take informed decisions accordingly.

Target Audience: 18+

Duration of Training: 4 hours

Program:

Opening and Introduction (20 min.)

Expectations and Program Sharing (10 min.)

Session 1: The Voice of the Climate (60 min.)

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Session 2: Climate news (60 min.)

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Session 3: Act for Climate, Now! (70 min.)

Written Evaluation and Closing (20 min.)

Environmental Literacy Training for Children

Sustainability and Ecological Literacy

Purpose of the Program:

With this education, it is aimed that, by participating in various games and activities, children

• develop critical thinking skills about human’s relationship with nature,
• learn about the life support systems that shape the way the Earth works and their limits,
• understand the effects of their actions in their daily lives on the planet and become aware of the individual steps they can take to become a part of the solution.

Target Audience: 13-17 years old

Duration of Training: 3.5 hours

Program:

Session 1. My Ecological Literacy (40 min.)

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Session 2: Nature and Human (50 min.)

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Session 3: The Planetary Boundaries (50 min.)

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Session 4: Our Ecological Handprint (50 min.)

Written Evaluation and Closing (20 min.)

Climate Literacy

Purpose of the Program:

With this training, it is aimed that, by participating in various games and activities, children

• learn the essential components of the climate system and climate change,
• acquire critical thinking skills on the chain effects of climate change,
• develop their ability to determine an intent list/action plan in order to be a part of the solution.

Target Audience: 13-17 years old

Duration of Training: 3.5 hours

Program:

Session 1. My Climate Literacy (40 min.)

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Session 2: Climate 101 (50 min.)

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Session 3: Chain Impacts of Climate Change(50 min.)

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Session 4: Take Action for Climate, Now! (50 min.)

Written Evaluation and Closing (20 min.)