Drosia Primary School KA

Larnaca, Cyprus

4th FUNDING CALL

Objectives

Drosia Primary School KA in Cyprus is launching Tales of the Blue: Engaging Children in Ocean-friendly Storytelling, a seven-month educational initiative designed to connect young learners with the importance of sustainable fishing and marine conservation. The project has four main aims:

1. Build research skills and community knowledge on sustainable seafood, culminating in a survey report on consumption habits and best practices.
   
2. Enhance scientific inquiry by studying marine biodiversity and ecosystem balance through hands-on experiments.
   
3. Cultivate creative expression and empathy via poetry, visual arts, music, and drama, giving students a platform to share conservation messages.
   
4. Create an educational storybook that combines research, science, and art to advocate for responsible fishing, with copies shared across the community.
   

Activities & Collaborations

The project is built on an interactive, multidisciplinary approach.

Research & Field Activities (Months 1–3):
Students will survey families about seafood choices, with local fishermen, marine policy experts, and biologists providing real-world insights. The aim is to link classroom learning with community awareness.

Inquiry-Based Science (Months 2–4):
Through a simulated aquatic ecosystem, students will explore fish population dynamics, learning how overfishing disrupts the food chain.

Creative Arts for Sustainable Fishing (Months 4–5):
Art, poetry, role-play, and music will allow students to express their understanding of ocean conservation. Activities include crosswords, dramatic performances, and interactive games.

Storybook Development (Months 3–7):
The “Ocean Tale” storybook will weave together scientific findings, creative works, and conservation messages. Teachers from multiple subjects and parents will support this effort.

Cross-school Collaboration – “Ocean Buddies”:
Two hundred students from six neighbouring schools will join in letter exchanges, sharing their learning and perspectives. They’ll also take part in a competition to design the storybook cover and slogan, with a prize to the winning entry.

Expert Support:
The Cyprus Marine & Maritime Institute (CMMI) will provide scientific guidance, workshops, and validation of educational materials.

Expected Outputs

By the end of the project, the school will produce:

• A digital and print storybook combining research, science, and art.
  
• A survey report on seafood consumption and sustainability awareness.
  
• A poster documenting biodiversity experiments.
  
• A digital collection of poems, paintings, and music created by students.
  
• Interactive learning materials such as crosswords and matching games.
  
• School newsletters chronicling the project’s progress.
  
• Presentation resources for the community awareness event.
  

All digital outputs will be freely accessible so other schools and organisations can use and adapt them.

Impact

The project will directly involve 70 students from the host school and engage another 200 from neighbouring schools, plus families, teachers, experts, and local authorities. Activities are designed to be inclusive, with adaptations for students with disabilities, learning difficulties, or language barriers.

Drosia Primary School KA aims to:

• Strengthen environmental literacy from an early age.
  
• Encourage active citizenship through community-driven science and storytelling.
  
• Build lasting connections between schools, experts, and the wider public on marine sustainability issues.
  

By integrating the work into subjects like science, art, language, and geography, the project ensures its messages extend beyond the seven-month timeline, leaving a legacy of knowledge, skills, and creative advocacy for ocean health.