Sustainability & Outdoor Education
GREEN PLAY - Board Games for Environmental Education & Sustainability
6 days
Environmental education is now a mandatory priority across European Erasmus+ programmes — and board games are emerging as one of the most powerful tools for bringing ecology, climate science and sustainability to life in the classroom. GREEN PLAY gives teachers a complete framework for using board games to develop genuine environmental understanding, not just awareness.
Participants explore existing environmental board games, learn to design their own, and build cross-curricular sustainability projects anchored in game mechanics. The course connects to place through visits to green spaces and sustainability projects in Braga and Porto, and aligns directly with the Erasmus+ Green Schools initiative.
Learning Outcomes
Participants to the course will learn to:
Use environmental and ecological board games to develop student understanding of sustainability concepts
Design board games and game-based activities centred on climate, biodiversity and environmental stewardship
Build cross-curricular sustainability projects integrating game mechanics with science, geography and citizenship
Apply outdoor and place-based learning in combination with games for environmental education
Connect game design to Erasmus+ environmental priorities: Green Schools, Eco-Schools and climate action
Lead a school sustainability professional development session using board games as the entry point
Programme
GREEN PLAY - Board Games for Environmental Education & Sustainability
Monday | Games & the Environment — Why Play Matters for the Planet
Welcome and course overview. Ice-breaking: green games warm-up.
The landscape of environmental board games: overview of the best titles and their pedagogical value.
Workshop: play and analyse three games with strong environmental themes.
Discussion: what makes an environmental game genuinely educational?
Tuesday | Climate, Biodiversity and Ecological Systems Through Games
Teaching complex systems: how board games can model ecosystems and climate cycles.
Hands-on: deep play session with ecology and biodiversity games.
Workshop: designing game mechanics that teach systems thinking.
Participants begin their own sustainability game design project.
Wednesday | Learning Outside — Games in Green Spaces
Outdoor session in Braga or Porto green spaces: applying outdoor education methods.
Environmental observation activities: citizen science, data collection and nature journaling.
Designing outdoor games for environmental education: prototyping in the field.
Connecting place-based learning to classroom game design.
Thursday | Game Design Workshop — Your Sustainability Game
Game design workshop: participants develop and test their own environmental game prototype.
Peer feedback and iteration: playtesting and refinement.
Aligning game designs with Erasmus+ Green Schools and Eco-Schools frameworks.
Cross-curricular mapping: linking game projects to science, geography, citizenship and arts.
Friday | Field Experience & Final Workshop
Cultural visit to selected Braga or Porto landmark relevant to the week's theme.
Final hands-on workshop: design and present your classroom action plan.
Group showcase: share the games, tools or activities created during the week.
Saturday | Certificate Ceremony & Closing
Presentation of each participant's final project or classroom toolkit.
Peer feedback and recognition of contributions.
Certificate presentation ceremony.
Group photograph and informal closing celebratio
Materials, digital tools & other learning resources
Course participants will receive training and engage in exercises designed to develop their skills as trainers. The provision of additional materials or resources will be determined based on the course structure and the instructor’s approach to meeting the learning objectives
Course package content:
Services and activities included in the course package are those described above. Please note that accommodation, transport, and meals are not provided.
Cancellation & changes:
Common sense prevails when it comes to cancellations, which are analyzed on a case-by-case basis.