Erasmus+ FullCircle
10 Schools | 7 Countries | 250+ Students
The Heat is On: Circularity in Green Management, Infrastructure and Nutrition in VET Schools Across Climatic Conditions.
The Erasmus+ FullCircle project is more than a sustainability project. It is a shared learning journey in which vocational schools, teachers, students, parents and local communities explored what it truly means to close loops, rethink resources and place students at the heart of change.
The project is committed to creating and sustaining green school environments and educational practices. We believe that meaningful change in schools is both possible and sustainable when certain conditions are met:
- Students are trusted as active drivers of innovation;
- Schools open themselves to collaboration with local communities and external partners;
- Sustainability is practised through concrete action, not only taught in theory;
- Education is understood as part of a broader social and ecological system.
FullCircle is a shared learning journey about closing loops, rethinking resources and placing students at the heart of change.
e+ FullCircle project
THE CHALLENGE
The 21st century confronts us with major climate and sustainability challenges that require us to rethink how we use resources, materials and energy in our daily lives. Education plays a crucial role in preparing young people to address these challenges and contribute to a more sustainable future.
The FullCircle project supports vocational education and training (VET) schools in developing circular ways of thinking and working. By connecting sustainable green management, circular infrastructure and healthy nutrition, the project empowers students and teachers to become active agents of change within their schools and local communities.
Through innovative learning approaches, FullCircle contributes to future-proof VET curricula that respond to environmental, social and economic challenges.
TWO COMPLEMENTARY DIMENSIONS
First, we focus on what students and teachers learn. Using the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), participants explore sustainable food systems, environmentally conscious green management, circular use of resources and materials, and the connections between nutrition, health and wellbeing.
Second, we focus on how lasting change can be achieved. Inspired by the Inner Development Goals (IDGs), the project encourages the development of personal and social competences such as self-confidence, creativity, empathy, collaboration and critical thinking. These skills help students and teachers turn knowledge into meaningful action.
Together, these two dimensions support the development of circular thinking and sustainable practices that can continue long after the project has ended.
The project begins with awareness raising and knowledge exchange. Partner schools share experiences, good practices and innovative examples of sustainable initiatives, ranging from food production and green management to circular construction and waste reduction.
Through workshops, discussions and local mapping exercises, students and teachers discover how sustainability challenges and opportunities relate to their own school environment and community.
Once participants have explored different possibilities, they move into a Living Lab phase.
A Living Lab is a collaborative approach in which students, teachers and local stakeholders work together to develop solutions for real-life challenges. Based on local needs, opportunities and ambitions, schools co-create and implement their own sustainability initiatives. These can take many forms, such as upcycling ateliers, greener schoolyards, vegetable gardens, outdoor classrooms, circular projects or community-based activities.
Through these hands-on initiatives, participants discover that sustainability is not an abstract concept, but a lived experience. Learning takes place through experimentation, co-creation and practical design activities, empowering students to contribute to positive change within their school and wider community.
An important part of FullCircle is learning from one another. Schools share their experiences, ideas and results across the international partnership.
Through workshops, online exchanges and mobility activities, students and staff gain insight into how sustainable solutions can be adapted to different environmental, social and climatic contexts across Europe.
To ensure that the project’s outcomes continue beyond its lifetime, FullCircle collects and shares the knowledge developed throughout the partnership.
The project has produced educational resources and inspiring examples that can support other VET schools in implementing circular and sustainable practices. These materials help translate project experiences into long-term educational impact.
What is FullCircle?
Countries
Participating VET schools
+
Students involved
Green school projects
LASTING IMPACT
The impact of FullCircle extends beyond the participating schools themselves. Throughout the project, each partner contributed to the development of educational materials and practical learning resources for teachers and schools across Europe.
By sharing these materials freely, the partnership aims to support wider awareness of circular and sustainable practices in vocational education and training.
FullCircle shows that when education truly comes full circle – from ideas to action, from school to society – the benefits extend far beyond the classroom. Students grow into engaged changemakers, schools become living laboratories for sustainability, and communities gain resilient foundations for the future.
