EDITORIAL
Do you know why the leaves fall from the trees?
When winter comes, the water in the ground is frozen and therefore inaccessible to the tree. The cold and heartless wind can also damage the tender leaves. So, to survive, the tree must lose all of its foliage, reduce photosynthesis and then, quietly, “fall asleep” to endure this harsh season. The changes in daylight trigger a hormone that releases a chemical message to each leaf that it is time to prepare for winter. The fall of the leaves allows a fresh start in the spring, and the nutrients from the decaying leaves are recycled to help grow the next leafy generation.
Our Erasmus+ Project is named LEAVES (Learning about Environment, Activism, Volunteering in Educational Schemes). We intend to be the trigger that prepares the new season. By sharing ideas and examples across the countries, we expect that bad habits will plummet and young people develop behavioral changes for individual preferences, awareness, and active engagement for sustainable development. In this way, perhaps we could help equalize the debt we all owe our Mother Earth and prepare for the next green generation.
We all know that our everyday life is often too hectical - there are so many things to do and so few time! Therefore, we the humankind - try to save time - by moving faster, using planes and cars. We should realize, though, that every hour we save or get by being as fast as possible could be something that we take away from further generations. Sad? Yes. We are here to fight against it.
Slowing down, being more attentive, open to coexistence with flora and fauna, being active in many fields of human action (sport, helath care, nutrition, civil activism and volunteering) will be our means of telling the world about the necessity of a change. If we do not modify our behaviour, our attitudes and lifestyle, our offsprings may not experience anything from the beauties of the world.
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