THE START OF THE PROJECT IN 2023

By implementing the project, we want to improve quality assurance and adaptation of vocational and professional education to the needs of the labor market and digitization. We will design a new, innovative curriculum, Sustainable horticultural design of outdoor space for events with helpful content in horticulture, agriculture, tourism, and hospitality. With new skills, educational candidates can improve employability, and lecturers will enhance the design of new courses. The contents will be on the freely accessible e-platform in EN, SI, RS, NL, and SK languages.

 

Activities that support the goals are:

• Managing the entire management – writing curriculum, manual for teachers, and learning content – creating a freely accessible e-platform
• Additional LTT 1 training for teachers who write content and activity together with invited teachers and students from different disciplines
• A synergy of knowledge at different levels – zoom and physical meetings – content testing/teachers, students, trainees
• Dissemination of the project: webinars, major physical events, promotional material

They were offering new courses with specific content and obtaining Europass certificates. The project will create an interdisciplinary module with the associated curriculum, teacher recommendations, and learning content. The impact analysis showed a good potential for the sustainability of new content in various system solutions: integration into existing educational subjects within the framework of an independent module in an open curriculum or practical training at the workplace at employers (the entire 5KT Europass module).

 

LTT1 event – “learning, teaching, training” Netherlands, 12-16. 06. 2023

The Netherlands, as the cradle of horticulture, offers the largest selection in the field of management of the development of new varieties due to its specificity – the small size of the country, large population, water engineering, and the limitation of natural resources – its sustainable development in the direction of the protection of natural resources, recycling, green economy is exceptional. At the same time, the marketing of horticulture, agriculture, and tourism is very developed. Organizing LTT1 in the Netherlands was a unique opportunity for the participants (teachers and students) to get acquainted with various innovations, solutions, development possibilities, methods, and approaches to solving problems.

 

Objectives:

The goal was to transfer specialized knowledge to teachers who teach horticultural content, but despite wanting to follow the needs of the market, they do not have additional interdisciplinary skills, which will now together form a new curriculum. This transfer of knowledge will be extended to students and partner organizations as part of additional training to employers, companies, and teachers who will be helped in their work on the project.

 

LTT2 event – “Learning, teaching, training” in the Arboretum Volčji Potok, Slovenia,  8-14 October 2023

At the event “Learning, teaching, training” – LTT2, the emphasis was on practical work and interdisciplinary cooperation/experiences for recommendations for teachers – instructions to students and preparation for practical work. Teachers from partner organizations and students from the Stredne škole Pruske and Poljoprivredne škole sa domom učenika PK Beograd students, teachers from invited Slovenian schools from vocational-technical schools in the fields of horticulture, tourism, agriculture, and catering, together with students participating. Thus, the teachers of the partner organizations will gain new experiences and knowledge about adapting the curriculum and a manual for teachers for users with specific skills at different levels. Practical work at the workshop is necessary for the joint creation of recommendations for teachers and specific adaptations of the curriculum.

 

Objectives:

Practical work – Sustainable horticultural design of the outdoor event space – In addition to the theoretical work, this LTT2 focused on the practical work of all teachers from partner schools together with invited teachers from other schools from Slovenia of various majors and students from partner and invited schools from Slovenia. While working, the teachers who wrote the curriculum and recommendations for teachers gained new knowledge and competencies, which are necessary for the final design of the curriculum and recommendations. Many additional experiences were gained in the field, which contributed to the work of the project. The invited teachers will participate in the testing of the e-platform, and therefore, the connection is very meaningful, as they will get more information about the project. The result after the workshop is also a physical – planted space designed according to the principles of new learning content. As this is a public park, it will help disseminate project results.

The first results in 2024

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHERS AND THE HDS CURRICULUM

THE END OF THE PROJECT IN 2025

A growing trend in today’s society is a return to nature, with more and more people choosing to organize events outdoors. This trend became even more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing new needs for knowledge in the sustainable horticultural design of outdoor event spaces. The main goal of this project is to enhance the quality and adaptability of vocational and professional education to meet labour market demands and to promote digitalization. Thanks to the new knowledge, it will be possible to improve the design of outdoor spaces for events in public areas, parks, and rural tourism sites, while also enhancing the plant care skills of employees in the hospitality and tourism sectors.

The project partners are: Arboretum Volčji Potok (SI), Floweracademy.SI (SI), Floweracademy.NL (NL), Stredná odborná škola Pruské (SK), and Poljoprivredna škola sa domom učenika PKB Beograd (RS). Together, they have developed a new training module titled Sustainable Horticultural Design of Outdoor Event Spaces, covering practical content in horticulture, agriculture, tourism, and hospitality. This knowledge aims to improve employability and enable the creation of new training courses. The partners created a curriculum, teacher guidelines, and learning content, which are freely available on the e-platform in five languages: EN, SI, RS, NL, and SK.

To achieve the project results, several activities were implemented: teacher training, good practice presentations, workshops, working meetings, dissemination events, and testing. The project website is available at: https://green-outdooreventspace.eu/sl/home/

The learning content is divided into five thematic sections:

• Infrastructure
• Plant Knowledge
• Plant Application
• Sustainable Design
• Marketing

 

After successfully completing each section and passing the related test, the learner receives a partial certificate. Upon completing all five sections, the learner can take the final test and obtain a general certificate for the entire module. If the learner wishes to receive a Europass certificate, they follow the instructions on the website, generate the certificate with listed competencies, and send it along with the general module certificate to the project coordinator – Arboretum Volčji Potok – who validates the Europass with an electronic signature. This provides the learner with an official document worth 5 ECVET points, which can be recognized in both formal and non-formal educational settings.

The impact analysis showed a strong potential for sustainable use of the new content in various educational settings: as part of existing subjects, as a standalone module in an open curriculum, or as on-the-job training with employers. The offer of new training courses with specific content and the option of earning a Europass certificate is also foreseen.

We invite you to join the free training programme on the project’s online learning platform.

The project website is available at: https://green-outdooreventspace.eu/sl/home/