Planet Aqua / Planeta Azul

Co-ordinator: Fundacao da Crianca (Children's Foundation, Portugal)
Irish Co-ordinator: AquaTT Start: 01/05/2003
Duration: 3 years
Funding: Interreg IIIB Measure

For more information on this initiative:

Visit www.planetaqua.ie

Or contact:

Olivia Daly, AquaTT, P.O. Box 8989, Dublin 2, Ireland

Tel: +353 1 644 9008 Fax: +353 1 644 9009 Email: olivia@aquatt.ie Website: www.aquatt.ie  

Current Status:

Funding provided by the EU Community Initiative Interreg IIIB Atlantic Area programme ended in 2006. The initiative is still running in Ireland under the auspices of Planet Aqua and targets 5th and 6th class primary school students.

Background:

The Blue Planet project (named Planet Aqua in Ireland ) has delivered international exhibitions, in Portugal and France , for primary school children (target ages 4 - 12). In February 2006, AquaTT coordinated a children's exhibition in Ireland for students in 5th and 6th class thus highlighting the importance of protecting and saving the environment on land and at sea. Partially funded by the EU Community Initiative Interreg IIIB Atlantic Area programme, and co-ordinated by Fundacao da Crianca (Children's Foundation , Portugal ), this lead partner organised a similar exhibition in 1999, travelling through Portugal , visiting more than 50 municipalities and 60,000 children.

Project Partners:

- Fundacao da Crinca (The Children's Foundation), Portugal
- AGROBIO, Portugal
- Quinta Formosa, Portugal
- Mutualite Sociale Agricole de Charente (MSA), France
- AquaTT UETP Ltd, Ireland

Planeta Azul Team
1st Partner Meeting
March 2004, Lisbon Portugal
Photo taken in the gardens of the Pestana Palace Hotel 

Planet Aqua - Ireland

AquaTT's Role:

AquaTT's role in the Blue Planet is twofold; As the Planet Aqua co-ordinator for the Irish exhibitions (Cork and Dublin February 2006), it was responsible for organising and implementing the two exhibitions in Ireland and securing sponsorship to support the Blue Planet initiative in Ireland; additionally, AquaTT, with its scope and access to scientific expertise, collated educational content for specific sections of the international exhibition.

Mission:

 
Planet Aqua, a non-profit initiative in Ireland, endeavours to inspire and encourage young people in Ireland to appreciate the environmental and scientific importance of conserving and preserving the planet's water habitats and resources, and in doing so, inspire them to take action in their lives to minimise their individual ecological footprints.

Aims & objectives:

- To raise awareness of the impact each individual has on the environment
- To show that a small contribution from everyone will make a big difference
- To instil in children a lasting proactive attitude to the environment
- To simplify conservation & provide initial keys to changing behaviour
- To promote science and its influence on our daily activities
- To promote careers in science & environmental protection

Deliverables:

Planet Aqua provides a dynamic website (www.planetaqua.ie) and a teacher's manual and held pilot exhibitions for the primary education community in order to promote the vital role of each individual to protect and conserve our planet's aquatic resources, locally and globally. The teacher's manual has been delivered to over 3,000 English speaking national primary schools. The two Planet Aqua pilot exhibitions impacted up to 6,000 school children in Ireland (5th and 6th classes) and were held in Cork and Dublin .

Cork: Lifetime Lab (Old Waterworks), Lee Road, Cork 1st - 10th February 2006
Dublin: Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin 20th February - 1st March 2006

The exhibition was also open to the public on the 4th - 5th February in Cork and 25th - 26th February in Dublin.

Methodology:

In an effort to both compliment the primary school science curriculum and also reflect the national developments in the aquatic and environmental industries in Ireland, governmental agencies operating under the Department of Education and Science, Department of Marine, Natural Resources, and Communication & Department of the Environment, were brought together as a steering committee to accomplish the Planet Aqua mission, aims & objectives.

The following are the agencies/organisations involved in the Planet Aqua Steering Committee: