Environmental Education Center

Environmental Education Proposals and School Trips for School Year 2024/2025

Among the main objectives of the Environmental Education Centre of the Cinque Terre National Park are the scientific knowledge promotion of the territory and of the Marine Protected Area, the development of scientific projects and the implementation of actions in order to encourage residents' and tourists' awareness to the environment.
The Centre for Environmental Education and Sustainability (CEAS) is also set up to provide support in environmental decision-making for local authorities and management bodies, as well as in spreading the best practices for a better management of the territory.
The Environmental and Sustainability Education activity is mainly carried out in all the Park's schools and in the area it covers (i.e., the Ligurian Riviera along the Bay of La Spezia and the coastal area from Deiva Marina to La Spezia), as the CEAS is accredited to the Ligurian System of Environmental Education Centres. Moreover, the scientific dissemination activity in the territory is carried out with all interested schools, both in the Province and in other Regions.
School Trips are also included in the offer: these are specifically designed for educational purposes across different disciplines.

The CEAS team is made up of professional graduates in scientific subjects, with years of experience in Environmental and Sustainability Education, and with the professional qualification required by regulations. This allows CEAS operators to teach these subjects in schools, and to carry out practical educational activities outdoors, also on hiking trails, as they are certified environmental guides recognised by the Liguria Region.

• Download the CEAS 2024/2025 Brochure - Kindergarten and Primary School (12.1Mb)
  
• Download the CEAS 2024/2025 Brochure - Middle and High School (21.7Mb)
•  Information Request Form (527Kb)

For further information and bookings: Cinque Terre Centre for Environmental Education and Sustainability (CEAS) - Via Discovolo snc - Manarola - at the Cinque Terre National Park offices - Mobile phone +39 370/3157790 - cea@parconazionale5terre.it

Seatrek Project - Educational Courses on the Sea (Further information from May 2025)

The Seatrek Project - Percorsi Educativi sul Mare (Educational Courses on the Sea) was born from the many years' experience in environmental education, diving and swimming didactics and scientific research of the CEA team's professional. It is an innovative idea constantly evolving, developed in full autonomy, which has made it possible to overcome the stereotype of snorkelling by giving it a concrete scientific meaning.
The Seatrek courses are structured according to increasing levels of knowledge and characterised - from their very beginning - by the use of marine biological research equipment, both at sea and in the laboratory. They allow even very young beginners to start mastering the equipement and gain the safety they need at sea.
Every year, dozens of young and very young people from 9 to 17 years of age are led to discover the biodiversity of the Cinque Terre Protected Marine Area, providing them with the basics and scientific notions that gradually deepen according to the course level, so as to study, understand and experience the Cinque Terre sea and coastline.
In the courses, in addition to the scientific component and what is technically related (e.g., the knowledge and use of stereoscopic microscopes, underwater cameras and square detection zones), students are taught how to behave safely at sea both for themselves and for the environment. They will make progress both from a scientific point of view, in interpersonal relations (teamwork) and in diving and swimming technique.
The courses are divided into several full-day sessions. During these sessions, CEA professionals carry out, among the main activities, environmental education, technical training, and scientific support. In the advanced courses, they will start teaching to the students how to detect important species, to assess the condition of the Marine Protected Area. 

Click here to find all the Environmental Education Proposals (Italian text)