On the 30th September 2005, Oliveira de Azeméis' municipality and its Eco-Schools received 2500 representatives of schools and local authorities from the whole country for the Green Flag Awarding Ceremony. Most of them were children and youth that joined to get their schools' Green Flag, at Dr Salvador Machado Sport Pavilion.
In this event were developed several activities, such as exhibitions, games, ateliers and visits throughout the city. In this ceremony there was also some outdoor activities related to the biannual Eco-Schools theme Sustainable Mobility/Transports:
- Bike rally paper - organised by the Portuguese Road Prevention;
- Grand Prix racing - the first Eco-Schools "Father Himalaya" solar race, which was coordinated by Father Himalaya Solar Energy Contest/ Portuguese Solar Energy Society/ Live Science.
In the afternoon, some entertaining presentations were made by students, followed by the Green Flag Awarding Ceremony to 318 Eco-Schools from 110 municipalities actively involved in the programme in 2004/2005.

(October 2005)

   
An "Infant-Juvenile Congress on Sustainability" was organised in Oeiras, near Lisbon, Portugal, on June 3-4. This initiative, which brought together over 400 children, youth and teachers from around the country, focussed on various themes pertaining to the sustainability agenda, including citizenship and human rights, health and consumption, environmental education and climate change. Many presentations were done by the children themselves on activities undertaken by their respective schools and clubs. There were various "hands-on" workshops and sessions organised in collaboration with various specialised NGOs. One principal message seemed to be,"education for sustainable development can be fun!".
   
The event, organised by a local NGO focussing on children´s after-school activities (Centro de Orientação e Ocupação de Tempos Livres de Linda-a-Velha) was a contribution to the objectives of the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development. Most of the schools participating were from the Eco-Schools network in Portugal. The official opening event, (which was very short and appropriate considering the audience) included representatives of the Ministry of Education, Institute for the Environment, UNESCO, the Vice President of the Municipality of Oeiras and the Eco-Schools International Coordinator.

(June 2005)

   
On 15 October will take place the 2004 Green Flag Awarding Ceremony, an event prepared for more than 2000 participants among teachers, students and local authorities' representatives involved in the Eco-Schools programme. The day will be fulfilled with environmental education activities, including the exhibition of the Eco-Code poster national competition. Sustainable mobility will be the key focus of Portuguese Eco-Schools in the next school year, through an integrated approach of the climate change issue. The national coordination programmed activities will be integrated on the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), which begins in January 2005.

(September 2004)

Eco-Schools Involved in Reforestation in Portugal

   
Forest fires represent one of the most serious problems that threaten the Portuguese forest every year in summertime. Therefore all the sensitization and all the measures taken to attenuate or solve this devastation are welcomed. Sensible to this reality, several Portuguese Eco-Schools decided this year to participate actively in the reforestation of burned areas.
   
"Queen" grows roots in Montejunto Mountains: From April 26 to May 1, about 70 students, from the 8th to the 12th grade of Secondary School Rainha ("queen") D. Leonor in Lisbon, planted more than 800 trees in a burned area of the mountain range of Montejunto. The school counted on the partnership of the General Direction of Forests, Institute of Nature Conservation, Municipality of Alenquer, Junta de Freguesia de S. João de Brito and the company Interaves.
   
A Tree For Mafra: After a study trip to Tapada de Mafra, the former royal park at 39km northwest of Lisbon, with an exuberant landscape, the students from "Éramos Um” were shocked to see it burning on the television news. The students wanted to take part in the reforestation of Tapada de Mafra, which had to be made in a sustainable way, in order to prevent the easy-spread of forest fires. Following this principle, 200 ash trees were planted by the students, together with their families and the educational community. Parents and children visit Tapada de Mafra regularly to monitor the growth of the ash trees.
   
Reforestation of the Hillside Castle of Alcanede: The school EB 2,3 of Alcanede in the region of Santarém is reforesting the burned area in front of the school. The students planted 150 young trees on the hillside of the castle, and are watching over their maintenance.
   
   

Blue Flag and Eco-Schools Working Together

   
For the last 3 years, primary school EB1 nº3 of Alcoitão is taking the handle of environmental sensitization activities at the beaches of the Municipality of Cascais. On 4 June 2004, the children went to Tamariz, a Blue flag beach, and began their activities distributing bilinguals' leaflets to the users of, and complete a checklist to verify the compliance of the Blue Flag criteria. They also collected cigarette butts with the aid of litter-pickers and distributed "icecream" ashtrays to the smokers.

(July 2004)

   
This year, Portuguese Eco-Schools have the opportunity to participate in another competition: the Green Brigade national contest. In fact, in addition to the Eco-code poster competition (in its 4^th edition this year), the schools were challenged to present “good ideas” of in school and community intervention. The contest aims to promote active citizenship among the Eco-Students which are taking part in the “Green Brigades” improving the school’s environment.

The projects submitted were very creative (quite a few are already in the implementation stage), and the approached themes wide-ranging:
• school grounds intervention cleaning and monitoring, sensory gardens, pedagogical kitchen gardens, sports and leisure grounds, environmental itineraries...
• heritage recuperation, such as windmills...
• cleaning and recovery of small streams and fountains...
• different campaigns related to the 3R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle), and the water and energy usage reduction...
• shelters for animals such as birds, dogs or even beetles...
• soap production from waste oils...
• school mobility plans...

   
It will be difficult to choose the best among the seventy five projects submitted. The Jury, which is composed by the members of the National Eco-Schools Committee and representatives of the sponsor of the competition - the consortium Bestfoods/Lever-Elida/Iglo-Olá, has to choose the 3 best projects in each category and follow their implementation (category A - kids under 10 years old; category B - kids older than 10). The prize for the 6 winners will be the co-financing of each project up to 1500 euros.

(March 2004)

   
A national meeting between the Eco-Schools coordinating teachers and the representatives of the Municipalities involved in the programme is organised every year, and aims at providing scientific and pedagogic training together with the exchange of experiences and the presentation of case studies.
   
The Eco-Schools National Meeting 2003/2004 was held this year from January 15 to 17 in Évora, the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage city, capital of the Portuguese Alentejo region, and brought together more than two hundred participants. In this seminar, in the opening session the State Secretary of Education was present, and issues such as Biodiversity - 2004 yearly theme for Portuguese Eco-Schools - Local Agenda 21 and Environmental Management were covered. The core themes of Eco-Schools - Water, Waste and Energy - were also presented as well as transports - the proposed yearly theme for 2004/2005 -, through the approach of issues such as sustainable mobility and eco-driving. It should be noted that all schools applying annually to the Green Flag award should implement the Eco-Schools methodology known as the "7 steps", and work on the core themes together with the yearly theme.
   
"In truth, we don't know what exists on Earth. It is estimated that there are about 5 to 100 million species, but only 1.75 millions are identified. Today, species and ecosystems are more threatened than on any other historic period. Effectively, the extinction rhythm induced by man can be 10 thousand times greater than natural. We must know the past and understand the biological and cultural evolution, planning simultaneously the future if we wish that the human species survives a few thousands years more on Earth." - Excerpt of one the presentations at the meeting, by Cristina Vieira - Institute of Nature Conservation.
   
The training sessions initiated in this seminar have continuity through additional sessions organised throughout the academic year, at regional level. The teachers involved also have the possibility to apply for accreditation which contributes to their career development, in result of the partnership established between Fee Portugal and the Orlando Ribeiro Teacher Training Centre.

(January 2004)

   
On September 30, at the Cultural Centre Olga Cadaval in Sintra, 209 Eco-Schools from 88 different municipalities were awarded with green flags. In 2002/2003, 338 schools and 118 municipalities were actively involved in the programme in Portugal. This clearly demonstrates the increasing recognition of Eco-Schools at national level and the commitment of schools and local authorities towards environmental education and sustainable development. Municipalities are invited to establish a partnership with ABAE / FEE Portugal in order to promote the programme and support schools in its implementation. As an incentive to their commitment, ABAE decided this year to attribute stars to the municipalities: one for each 3 awarded Eco-Schools.

(September 2003)

   
A new competition at national level was launched this year in Portugal, which aims to debate and reflect on environment versus consumption. The "Green Brigade" competition encourages youth to investigate several products that they use in their every day life through an environmental perspective (all the products investigated are produced by the companies Fima/Lever/Iglo-Olá, sponsors of the programme in 2002).
   
For more information about this competition (in Portuguese) visit: www.abae.pt/brigadaverde

(November 2002)

Eco-Schools National Seminar
in Vila Nova de Gaia

   
The Portuguese Eco-Schools Seminar 2002/03 took place in the Biological Park of Gaia, from 25^th to 26^th of November. The event gathered about 200 participants including teachers, representatives from local authorities, from the ministry of education (department of basic education) and from other environmental education entities. As in previous seminars, several environmental education experts were invited to present the different Eco-Schools themes (water, waste, energy, organic agriculture, school grounds, noise and transport). In addition, were also presented a number of Eco-Schools case studies by their coordinating teachers. Furthermore, this year was launched a new theme - biodiversity, and a new competition - "Green Brigade". Additionally, the linking and itinerary system was presented and there are already several schools registering, interested in establishing links with others worldwide. At the Biological Park of Gaia facilities, there was also an exhibition of posters from the 2002 "Eco-Code" competition, reports and other materials produced by the Awarded Eco-Schools in 2001/02. This year' national seminar was once more a training opportunity, which allowed teachers to learn and to exchange experiences between themselves and other entities involved in the implementation of Eco-Schools.

Environmental Train

   
On the 20^th of November 2002, the Portuguese national railway company (CP - Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses) in cooperation with several NGOs (including ABAE - FEE Portugal) organised an environmental education activity entitled: "Environmental Train". By train, from Lisboa to Entroncamento (roundtrip), 55 students (4^th and 7^th grade) involved in the programmes Eco-Schools and Young Reporters for the Environment, participated in environmental education activities related to transports. "Help the Environment, don't be late, take a train, and settle the case!" This is part of the Eco-Code produced by the students with the best 6 thematic statements on "railways and the environment". These activities will be continued and integrated into the school subjects throughout the academic year.

Awarding Ceremony in Maia

   
The Portuguese Eco-Schools Annual Awarding Ceremony was held on 26^th of September 2002 in Maia, near the northern city of Oporto. 176 schools received the green flag award, and certificates for the school and for the coordinator teacher of the programme. 21 of these schools were awarded for the fifth/sixth time, and received a special merit certificate for their continuous efforts to improve the environ-mental quality of their school and local community. Several Munici-palities were also distinguished with a certificate for their support and close work with the schools helping them to implement the programme. Representatives from the Munici-pality, as well as the President of ABAE/FEE Portugal and the Eco-Schools International Coordinator, were present for the event.

(September 2002)

Annual Eco-Schools Seminar at Foz do Arelho

   
The Portuguese Eco-Schools Annual Seminar was held at Foz do Arelho from January 31 to February 1. More than 100 participants attended the seminar, including teachers and representatives from local authorities. The annual seminar represents one of the most important steps for the training and exchange of experiences between the teachers involved in the programme. Throughout the workshops sessions and seminar several issues were approached, such as ES methodology, evaluation of environmental education projects, curriculum restructuring and ES themes (water, waste, energy, biological agriculture, outdoor grounds, noise and transports). This year’s seminar, organized by Associação Bandeira Azul da Europa, counted on the support of the Ministries and Institutes in the areas of Education and Environment, and Caldas da Rainha Municipality, among others.

(February 2002)

Awarding Ceremony in Lisbon

   
On the 5^th of November, 162 Eco-Schools from 76 different municipalities were awarded the Green Flag in Portugal. The yearly awarding ceremony took place at the site of the Expo 98 in Lisbon. 600 students and teachers were present, in addition to representatives from the municipalities and officials from Public Ministries and Institutes in the areas of Education and Environment.

(November 2001)

National Eco-Code Competition

   
On the 16^th July, the Portuguese Eco-Schools Committee met to choose the winning posters of the National Eco-Code Competition. This new initiative aims to stimulate the interest and curiosity of young people in the environment, namely through the definition of a conduct code, or statement of intent. The three selected school posters will receive awards given by sponsors of the Portuguese Programme. The best poster will be published and distributed to all Eco-Schools at the National level. At the meeting both the National and European Coordinators of the Eco-Schools Programme (Ms Margarida Gomes and Mr Sérgio Santos, respectively) were present, as well as other members of the Portuguese Eco-Schools Committee such as representatives of the Ministries of Education and Environment, Institute of Educational Innovation and Institute for the Promotion of the Environment.

(August 2001)