Report on the one-week study mobility of the Erasmus+ group in the framework of the Erasmus+ Stepping Up to the UN SDGs project: Reunion Island, from 08 to 12 November 2021.
This welcome week was initially planned earlier, but was postponed due to force majeure (health context of the Covid19 pandemic). Nevertheless, it was finally held, and all the partners were able to attend except those from Wales, still under health restrictions at that time.
Thus, the St Exupéry high school welcomed 8 teachers (Finnish from Oulu, Spanish from Melilla, Portuguese from Braga) and 14 students, to which were added 5 Finnish students from the school of Laanila on a one-month mobility.
The teachers were accommodated in the nearest hotel and the students in host families, according to the project. The week was placed under the sign of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on the SDGs 1, 2, 4, 12, 14, 15, 17. Indeed, if the initial project envisaged a spotlight on the SDG 1 (fight against poverty), we adapted to the reality of what has been undergone in the school since the beginning of the project, with important work on biodiversity, responsible consumption, partnerships, and chose to present all these facets of the work around the sustainable development goals to the Erasmus + partners.
The week started on Monday, Nov. 8, with a speech by the Mayor of Les Avirons, who is also the Director of the National Park of Reunion Island, a political figure particularly committed to sustainable development. The eco-students then organized a guided tour of the high school, focusing more particularly on the displays and murals (themes of the fight against climate change, waste reduction, reduction of inequalities), the green spaces (the educational vegetable garden, the arboretum), the resource center (books, magazines, important sitography on the SDGs), before making an interactive game on the SDGs and Reunion. Then each group presented a work prepared beforehand on local distribution networks in their cities/regions - an opportunity to exchange on the importance and diversity of local initiatives. A representative of the Reparali association also came to present his association (repairing everyday objects) - following an interview conducted by the high school's eco-students.
In the afternoon, the group visited a local organic farm and then took a short hike in the forest, inside the National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The partners were thus able to see and appreciate the local biodiversity, and the farming techniques that respect it, which also promote local networks, drivers of sustainable local growth.
On Tuesday, the group visited the nearby college (Collège Simon Lucas), and its 'Ti Bazar Vert'. Students and teachers explained the process of transforming a former concrete parking lot into a green space, which is now a vegetable garden, an orchard, and also home to chickens and rabbits - all done mainly by students in adapted education classes, often from modest backgrounds. Then the group got to work planting banana trees and making benches from recycled pallets.
In the afternoon, the focus was more on marine biodiversity, with a guided tour of the Kelonia center (sea turtle collection center), followed by a workshop on the re-vegetation of the beach (planting endemic species in order to reclaim the coastal area and make it more suitable for sea turtles).
On Wednesday, back at the high school, the group learned how to make jewelry and souvenirs from recycled materials (tires, pallet wood), while others went to the classrooms to present the SDGs in their cities and schools to Reunionese students. Once again, promoting recycling and local production not only preserves resources, but also fights poverty and seeks inexpensive alternatives to consumer products.
On Thursday, November 11, a public holiday and therefore a closed school, the group went on a day trip with their Reunionese hosts. The group visited the volcano, a remarkable natural site, and took a closer look at the flora (which is adapted to the high altitude and harsh climate), as well as the formation of the volcano - and of the island. On the way back, the group visited the Maison du Volcan for more scientific information.
On Friday, the group followed a conference on biodiversity, with a guided tour of the arboretum, planted with some 70 endemic trees in partnership with the association Hisse Un Arbre. During this time, another part of the group was introduced to zero waste recipes, by making toothpaste and homemade deodorant, then the groups were reversed. In the afternoon, the zero-waste products were finished, and then the week ended with the planting of 6 new endemic trees in the arboretum - trees donated by the municipality as part of the City Council's TKD project, before a final farewell ceremony with the distribution of certificates.
Thus, the Erasmus group was able to understand the importance of biodiversity in Reunion (marine and terrestrial, SDGs 14, 15), appreciate our partnerships with the college and local associations (SDG 17), learn to make inexpensive and environmentally friendly objects and recipes (SGDs 1, 12), understanding the importance of organic agriculture and the family or educational vegetable garden to ensure healthy food and promote local networks (SDG 2), and contributing to quality education (SDG 4) - all while respecting a strict sanitary protocol that left little room for the unexpected.
Moreover, the integration into the families was a real success, all the students felt at ease with their hosts and their host families.