Presentation of the new manual and online game “EKO PATROLE” in Zadar.

On Thursday, November 28, at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zadar, we presented and disseminated Eco Patrols, a handbook for non-formal education of young people on environmental topics, along with the online game “Eco Patrols in 24 Zones,” which also aims to teach young people about the environment and ecology using informal methods.

The mentioned handbook and game were created through the two-year project “Eco Patrols 4 Environmental Goals,” led by the Murter-based association Argonauta. The idea for this project stemmed from the experience of a similar project called Blue Eco Patrol, where they worked with younger students in 7 primary schools in the Šibenik-Knin County. This program also resulted in a handbook in 2020. Due to the success of the achieved results, Argonauta decided to elevate the entire environmental education story to an international level. They gathered partners from Hungary, Italy, Serbia, and North Macedonia, with whom they co-created the content of the new handbook aimed at older participants.

The modules covered in the handbook include eco-literacy, biodiversity, climate change, waste management, energy and resources, water, sustainable agriculture, and environmental activism.

Each module was tested with about 20 young people in each partner country, and in Croatia, the testing was conducted at the Antun Vrančić Gymnasium in Šibenik.

The project also added a digital dimension, developing an e-educational game, which acts as a teaser to encourage young people to take civic action related to environmental challenges and climate change.

The dissemination event was attended by teachers, professors, youth workers, and members of organizations and associations working with young people. They had the opportunity to participate in several activities from the handbook, as well as play the online game, all aimed at inspiring them to implement their own activities with young people. This handbook (which they received at the end of the presentation) and the online game will certainly make their preparation easier, as they will be able to quickly and simply prepare content and materials for various environmental topics.

For anyone else who would like to browse or download the handbook and online game, they can do so on the website https://eco-patrols.eu/ and via the links https://eco-patrols.eu/manual/#language-versions and https://eco-patrols.eu/e-game/.

The project “Eco Patrols 4 Environmental Goals” is funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ program, with a value of €250,000, and runs until February 1, 2025.