Third AUL in Stolberg (Germany) from 7 – 12 November 2022

 

The project: Erasmus+2020-1-DE03-KA229-077412_1, “Sustainable Me – my power as

a consumer”

 

The theme of the AUL in Stolberg was green energy, as formulated in the application.

 

Preparation for the meeting in Stolberg

Before the meeting, online surveys on green energy the teachers of the partner schools had worked out together, were filled out by students, parents and teachers at all partner schools.

In addition, the students prepared CLIL material that is helpful for the international work on the projects of the week.

 

 

The programme of the week

Mondag

Arrival day: Everyone was accommodated in the City Hotel in Stolberg. The Italians were welcomed by German project students when they arrived at 6:15 pm and spent the evening together in a pizzeria next to the hotel.Unfortunately, the groups from Finland and Spain arrived late, at around 10 pm, so they only had a pizza at the hotel.

 

Tuesday

After walking together to the school accompanied by German students, the programme started in the assembly hall with a welcome, information about the week and icebreaker activities. Afterwards, international teams evaluated the surveys and prepared posters for the presentation.

While the students worked on their projects, the teachers reflected on the experiences and results of the meetings in Italy and Finland.

During the lunch break, there were sandwiches and homemade cake as well as school tours in international groups with a look at various lessons. Afterwards, the results of the group work were presented and discussed in the assembly hall.

Sports activities, where international teams could prove their team skills at eight stations, provided a lot of fun. The students spent the evening together in Stolberg, while the teachers went out for dinner.

 

Wednesday

During a day excursion to the Garzweiler open-cast mine, the participants learned about the advantages and disadvantages of fossil fuels using the example of the Rhenish lignite mining area and lignite-based power generation.

The fact that lignite-based power generation is not only problematic in terms of the climate, but also has other serious consequences, could be experienced directly and at first hand by the project participants during their visit to the open-cast mine. The project participants were impressed by the size of the plant, the destruction of nature and the villages that were dredged away. At the same time, everybody was able to realise that despite the negative consequences of this electricity generation, a conversion to a completely sustainable energy supply will not be as easy as one would often wish. After all, the surrounding towns and communities benefit from the jobs and tax revenues and the industry from the continuous energy supply. The following visit to Paffendorf with lunch in Paffendorf Castle showed the project participants an example of a largely intact, historically grown Rhenish village that had to disappear so many times elsewhere as a result of lignite mining.

 

Thursday

 

In the morning, three different chemical experiments were conducted in international groups to show how green energy can be produced:

· Potato & lemon battery [electricity generation with potatoes/lemons] - possible for e-cars and e-bikes?

· Hydrogenation [decomposition of water (H2O) into hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen gas (O2); including detection of the gases] - a new fuel for cars?

· OLED [construction of a light-emitting diode with an organic semiconducting material] - a real organic alternative to the LED?

After the experimentation phase, the results were evaluated, deepened through internet research and presented and discussed using PowerPoint presentations.

While the students worked on their projects, the teachers planned the meeting in Spain in terms of preparatory online activities and possible activities in Spain.

In the afternoon, an excursion to Aachen was on the agenda for the whole group by public bus. The students were guided through the city in international groups by German students and familiarised with the history and culture (Charlemagne's Cathedral, hot springs, fountains, typical specialities, etc.) The teachers explored the city with teachers from the Stolberg Erasmus team and had dinner together.

 

Friday

In the morning, the students worked in small groups to evaluate the results and present them later in a creative way through films, comics, etc. At the end there was for teachers and students an online evaluation of the week and photos were taken on the schoolyard.The afternoon was free. Most of the students spent the afternoon together, exploring the surroundings of Stolberg and deepening their contacts.

In the evening, there was a farewell party in a youth centre with lots of dancing, lots of photos from a photo box and lots of fun. The performance of a children's carnival group especially for 11 November was a special highlight.

 

Saturday

Return flight of the groups from Finland, Italy, Spain.

 

 

Evaluation of the surveys https://goethegymnasium52223.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/sites/Erasmus-Team/Freigegebene%20Dokumente/General/Interpretation%20of%20the%20surveys.pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=0FeeUl

 

 

Film shown at the party. https://goethegymnasium52223.sharepoint.com/:v:/r/sites/SUSTAINABLEMEErasmus/Freigegebene%20Dokumente/Fotos%20und%20Videos/Mein%20Film.mov?csf=1&web=1&e=JVbh3f

 

fotos from the fotobox https://fotos.foboxy.de/m/8279118/kdm6tp?l=de

 

 

Creative green energy products https://goethegymnasium52223.sharepoint.com/:v:/r/sites/SUSTAINABLEMEErasmus/Freigegebene%20Dokumente/General/original-E5D55BAA-E811-4C66-BE9A-C7DBB21DA507.mp4?csf=1&web=1&e=fHFSdR https://goethegymnasium52223.sharepoint.com/:v:/r/sites/SUSTAINABLE