For teachers
Greenopolis is a learning material about sustainable urban development, climate adaptation and nature-based solutions. Greenopolis is a digital educational platform with exercises and activities that bring nature into the classroom and bring the pupils out into nature.
The aim of the educational platform is to draw attention to the advantages of nature-based solutions. Through Greenopolis, the pupils get a basic understanding of how nature-based solutions can help create resilient cities. The digital learning platform is designed and developed with the aim of making the learning and exploring of nature-based solutions simple, inspiring, and motivating. The material is divided into five themes that all treat one climate challenge and introduce relevant examples of nature-based solutions to deal with this respective challenge.
Themes
A Diverse City – about solutions to increase the level of biodiversity in the city
The chapter A Diverse City is about biodiversity and how ecosystems are put under pressure as a consequence of an intense urban development. More and more people move to the city and thus increase the demand for infrastructure and buildings which only leaves little space for nature. When nature only has little space, the ecosystems are put under pressure. By including nature-based solutions in urban planning, we can create habitats for plants and animals.
Download the teacher’s book for A Diverse City
The Sound of City – about solutions to reduce noise pollution
The chapter The Sound of the City is about noise pollution. There are sounds everywhere. The sound of humans talking, music from an apartment, cars, bicycles, and people walking on the street. When sounds become unwanted we call it noise pollution. Noise can disrupt our thoughts, our work, our concentration, and our sleep. Nature has a noise-reducing effect, so by creating green areas in the city we can reduce noise pollution.
Download the teacher’s book for The Sound of City
Hot City – about solutions to prevent heat-islands
The chapter Hot City is about the heat-island effect. It is a phenomenon that arises when the temperature of the city surpasses that of the surrounding rural area. Cities are built of asphalt, bricks and concrete that all absorb the heat from the sun. On hot summer days, the difference in temperature between the city and the surrounding rural area can reach 3-10 degrees celsius. Heat-islands are a threat to nature as well as the citizens’ health. Nature does however have a cooling effect, so by creating for example green roofs or pocket parks we can lower city-temperatures and reduce the heat-island effect.
Download the teacher’s book for Hot City
Urban Wetlands – about solutions to prevent flooding in the city
The chapter Urban Wetlands is about the challenges of cloudbursts and flooding. It is anticipated that urban areas in the coming years will experience increasing and more powerful cloudbursts. This will result in flooding of houses and roads. In modern cities, sewers lead the water away from the city, but if the rain is too powerful, the sewers are overburdened. Green areas have a capacity to absorb large amounts of water, so by including nature in city-planning we can prevent city-flooding.
Download the teacher’s book for Urban Wetlands
Clean Air in the City – about solutions to reducing air pollution
The chapter Clean Air in the City is about air pollution. Different sources of air pollution, of which most are made by humans, are introduced to the pupils. The sources include the burning of fossil fuels, carbon and wood for when we heat our houses or drive our cars. Air pollution is unhealthy for both humans and the nature surrounding us. Planting trees is an efficient nature-based solution to clean the air because trees transform CO2 to oxygen. By including trees in the city planning we can reduce air pollution.
Download the teacher’s book for Clean Air in the City
Exercises and activities
We have put together a series of exercises and activities as an inspiration to include nature in the lessons. The exercises and activities bring the learning about nature-based solutions into play in new and different ways through reflections, movements and sensations, creative sessions, exploration of the neighbourhood, as well as scientific experiments and investigations.
Reflections
Exercises within this category give the pupil the possibility to reflect about the subject and put it into perspective. The exercises can be done individually or in groups, and the exercises do not require any materials or prior preparation.
Learning through movement and sensation
Bodily learning is an important element in Greenopolis. The pupils get out of their seats for a physical activity that can be carried through in the classroom or outdoors. The activities add a physical and bodily element to otherwise abstract concepts. The materials and preparation needed for the activities will be described in the teacher’s book, as well as questions for further discussion on the subject.
The creative corner
Through the creative corner the pupils will translate their newly acquired knowledge to creative products, bringing creativity and imagination into play. The materials and preparation needed for the activities will be described in the teacher’s book, as well as questions for further discussion on the subject.
Exploring the neighbourhood
These exercises bring the pupils out to an exploration of their neighbourhood. The pupils will investigate local nature-based solutions and how they work. The exercises do not require any materials, but it is recommended that the teacher makes a personal investigation of the respective nature-based solutions beforehand. The activities might be more or less time-consuming, depending on the location of the destination. Questions for further discussion on the subject can be found in the teacher’s book.
Scientific experiments and investigations
The exercises offer the pupils a possibility to make scientific experiments and investigations related to the subject. The pupils will use the newly acquired knowledge from the digital learning platform for the discoveries and conclusions they make through the exercises. The exercises require materials specified in the teacher’s book, as well as teacher preparation in relation to the aim of the respective exercises, procedure, and background knowledge and understanding. Questions for further discussion can be found in the teacher’s book.
Safety during exercises
It is of utmost importance that the person responsible for the use of the educational platform of Greenopolis informs oneself and ensures that exercises and activities are carried out with consideration for the safety of nature and all participants.
Project developers and project partners disclaim the responsibility for the security during exercises and activities.
The EU Horizon 2020
Greenopolis is developed by Intugreen in cooperation with teachers, researchers, schools, and partners of the REGREEN research project.
REGREEN is a research project that promotes research, education and innovation within nature-based solutions, with the aim of developing methods, learning materials and tools to develop sustainable cities in Europe and China.
REGREEN is coordinated by Aarhus University. The project started in 2019 and will last until 2024. The REGREEN project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No 821016.
