THE GERMAN TOWN OF LEMGO HOSTS THE MAST PROJECT; AN ENRICHING FIFTH MOBILITY

Teaching our pupils to live in a sustainable society, studying new and old energy sources and visiting great cities

After some activities and games to try to get to know every participant, it was time to start an exciting week of activities and good vibes. The German students guided the visitors through the facilities of this huge vocational school that teaches almost 2.500 students. It is equipped with an admirable supply of materials and spaces for different purposes distributed in several buildings.

The visit to the historical centre of Lemgo was an unexpected wonder for all visitors; it’s a walk which made everybody travel through times of the splendour of the town reflected on the impressive Gothic architecture and beautiful Renaissance facades. The participants could enjoy the main churches, streets and corners of this city overlooking the river Bega.

This tour included the warm welcome by the town authorities which, of course, took place at the Town Hall, a building full of artistic interest and located at the very Marktplatz.

The main objective of this 5th LTTA of the project was to reinforce the students' awareness of the need of living in a sustainable society. Within the program of the project, the initial project plan included the creation of power points about the topic, but the German school thought of something which was undeniably more attractive. So, they gave the partners instructions to create posters to be exhibited and explained by the pupils during the mobility.

These posters had to deal with issues such as the average carbon footprint of a citizen in every partner’s country, the contrast of a traditional and a more sustainable concept of society and a general research of the impact of some habits and attitudes and the possibility of more beneficial and environmental solutions.

Besides, during the week, a workshop on the efficiency and operation of solar panels and wind turbines was prepared. The pupils were divided into groups and, guided by other students from the school, they altered parameters in the recreations of solar panels and wind turbines to observe the results. Finally, with the conclusions obtained about these clean energies, they made oral presentations.

All this study of renewable energies was complemented by an interesting guided visit to learn much more about another essential energy in the past. The industrial complex of the Zollverein coal mine in Essen, in the famous Ruhr region, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, not only for its historical value in coal mining, but also because several of its buildings are from indisputable architectural value.

Not far from Essen, in Oberhausen, there is the largest former gas generator in Europe, built almost a hundred years ago. The participants of the meeting learned the history of this gigantic industrial monument of intense history and now transformed into a cultural centre.

Inside the gasometer, the exhibition "The Fragile Paradise", with impressive and dramatic photographs of the Earth, its animals and plants, allowed everybody to travel in a magnificent journey through the beauty of our planet and to reflect on the systematic destruction to which we are subjecting it.

But the central element of the exhibition in the gasometer was the Earth itself, a 25-metre balloon suspended in a space 100 metres high that left everyone speechless. That fake planet created by technology is like a living and constantly changing sculpture.

We must stand out the stimulating cultural visit to Hamburg, a city with historical and stately monuments, but also exciting and always renovating its aspect. Both the students and the teachers toured this enormous city in groups, trying to sightsee most of the highlights.

All the participants joined to visit the modern Philharmonic Hall located in the port area of HafenCity, by the river Elbe, and considered as one of the most advanced concert halls in the world. They also came to see Miniature Wonderland and they felt like children for a while. The day ended in the warehouse district with the last golden light of the sunset.

The pupils spent some time on practising indoors climbing in Bielefeld, which is a city situated at about 30 kilometres from Lemgo. Besides, the participants could sightsee the city centre and go up the Sparren-burg castle hill to enjoy the view of the rooftops.

During the working days at the German school, a meeting of teachers was held to assess the running of the project up to that moment and, in addition, the Swedish partners presented the activities planned for the last mobility in Karlshamn, Sweden, in May. The project task for that 6th LTTA, "A Multicultural Festival" was also discussed and instructions to prepare it were given.

The handout of the official certificates took place in the framework of an informal dinner with finger food, live music, dancing and also a pleasant atmosphere, which was the general trend throughout the week.

The students felt part of the community and will always remember the kindness of the German families since, in this mobility, the visiting students were hosted in German homes, something that due to COVID had not been possible in all the mobilities. We must keep in mind that this is something essential in the learning that is acquired in Erasmus projects.

The teachers who travelled to Lemgo will never forget a mobility rich in contents, didactic, with the objectives achieved and perfectly prepared, but above all, carried out with generosity and the warmest kindness.