CYCERE in Brussels for the Erasmus+ Project “Little Green Fingers”

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The Cyprus Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CYCERE) participated in the Teacher Training of the European Erasmus+ project “Little Green Fingers”, which took place on 12–13 June 2025 in Brussels.

The meeting was hosted at the green facilities of the Stuyvenberg Greenhouses and provided a unique opportunity for educators and partners from Cyprus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Serbia to connect, exchange ideas, and be trained in the philosophy of the project. The training was designed to immerse teachers in the learner’s experience, engaging them in the same activities they will later implement in their school settings. These activities focus on integrating environmental action in early childhood (ages 4–6) and lower primary education (ages 6–8), aiming to foster environmental awareness and cultivate responsible and conscious future citizens.

Little Green Fingers – Young Innovators for a Sustainable Future seeks to nurture environmental awareness, creative thinking, and environmental citizenship from an early age through experiential learning, design thinking, and playful engagement with nature.

As an official project partner, CYCERE plays a key role in the pedagogical development of activities, the guidance of educators, and the integration of environmental citizenship through practical and imaginative activities in schools across Cyprus.

The two-day training proved to be particularly enriching for participants. Teachers had the opportunity to explore new pedagogical approaches, collaborate across countries, and gather ideas to bring back to their own school environments. Field-based activities, creative workshops, and reflective discussions all contributed to shaping a shared educational language around sustainability.

The training also included a presentation by CYCERE, focusing on the pedagogical development of the learning activities and the environmental citizenship framework, as applied in the Cypriot context. CYCERE shared practical experiences from schools in Cyprus and provided insights into how playful learning and nature-based activities can be embedded into daily school life.

The project is implemented by the consortium:

• Designathon Works (Netherlands) – Project Coordinator

• An Taisce – Green Schools (Ireland)

• Change of Course (Belgium)

• KidHub (Serbia)

• CYCERE – Cyprus Centre for Environmental Research and Education (Cyprus)

This article was published on the Cypriot educational news portal Paideia-News.