Sustainability in Action: The Allaboard Project in Portuguese Schools

ByMarta Reis

The Allaboard project has been quite active at our school, where every little step taken has led our actions to a brighter and more sustainable future. From recycling and transforming old clothes and objects into toys and musical instruments, planting, cleaning, nature observation, teachers, students, parents, school staff are working hand-in-hand to be a part of the solution in protecting our planet.

Our initiatives included activities under the scope of the thematics   ““Be sustainable! Be part of a solution to save the planet!” events, where teachers, students, parents, the community, participated in:

  • Lecture “Biowaste and Composting” – Oliveira de Azemeis City Council, with Dr. Ândrea Ferreira – Environment and Nature Conservation Skills Center;
  • Workshop “From Trash to Art” – Learning to recycle! with the teacher/Expert Sílvia Pinho – “Chez Sílvia studio”
  • Workshop “Say no to food waste!” Project Health at School/Eco-school – Teachers Marília Marques, Helena Trigo and Ana Veloso / Association of Parents
  • “Let’s take care of the health of the planet!”, sessions by the Faculty of Pharmacies of Porto/Support from ValorMed with Dr. Elizabeth Tiritan
  • Online Event – getting to know the “Allaboard Gamebox” with the  Teacher Angela Gordino – Coordinator of the Erasmus project and teacher Lurdes Silva, with the presence of an Italian, Romanian and Spanish school;
  • Celebration of the International Day without cars at Travanca school with activities promoted by  the Parents Association;
  • A Week of 5R’s Policies – Support of Parents association of Curval, CityEducation Council; Supermarket Lidl, with activities from  creating  Ecological Hearts to The Four Seasons of Arcimboldo – Art creation Created by collaging natural elements or Creating nests for birds;
  • A Week of Works in Nature!with the  Support of Parents association of Palmaz and Teacher Ana Oliveira,with so diverse activities from  Field work: Nature exploration, Recycling paper;  Reflections on environmental issues and raising awareness among the educational community; Giving life to walls,  Creation of the Barucha Witch and  Musical instruments;
  • A Week as: Guardians of the Forest! with the Support of Parents association of BREJO School with activities surrounding Awareness Week for our students, with  Painting with natural elements/dyes;  Create an insect hotel; Create Nests for trees; Drawings and creations and Using the solar oven.

Transforming and recycling  materials into creative projects, diving into nature observation and working with nature encourages everyone to look attentively at our planet, our surroundings and try to contribute and build a better future!

Having in mind that raising awareness to taking action in the environment and fighting against climate change with teachers and children from primary education level has been our main goal, we can see that the small  activities implemented not only contributes to reducing our ecological footprint but also enhances a sense of responsibility and pride in our students. Together, as a school,  we learnt that looking after  the environment is not just a choice—it’s a commitment to future generations. We will continue to participate, implement activities and inspire children, parents, the community to be better and grow greener every day!