Moldova's green mission: How environmental education is shaping the next generation
The need for better environmental education is becoming increasingly clear in Moldova, a country facing significant ecological challenges.
Experts warn that protecting nature must be a priority for younger generations, not just an optional subject. Some schools, educational centres, and youth organisations are seeing initiatives emerge, demonstrating how students can be agents of change when given the necessary tools and support.
Although several ecological initiatives have been launched—such as the development of vertical gardens, sound-reducing green fences, waste sorting, and floriculture activities—a growing number of voices argue that these actions remain insufficient to address environmental challenges.
Educational institutions in Moldova are taking important steps toward educating a responsible generation, but achieving real results requires more consistency and integration of these practices into the educational process.
At the City Centre of Young Naturalists, students are taught to turn theory into practice through ecological and floral design activities.
"We do landscape design on the computer and then go outside to bring the projects to life. We are very actively involved in ecological decorative art," says the centre's director, Cezara Cornienco, a guest on the "Ecosystem" show on Radio Moldova. “We are training florists, which means we also try to give the girls a profession in addition to what they learn in school. Here, they can also embrace a very beautiful and elegant profession called the Art of Floral Arrangement.”
An activity called "Floriculture and Floral Design," coordinated by teacher Maria Pavlicenco, is helping students to develop creativity and learn how plants can contribute to cleaner air and biodiversity.
"The club’s sessions are divided into several modules: autumn, winter, spring, and summer. We begin with the autumn module, which involves harvesting flowers and creating bouquets and boutonnieres from fresh flowers," explains the teacher. "The children learn to craft these floral jewels that not everyone can create. And, perhaps, for some children, it could also become a profession."
Young women taking part in these activities say they have found a passion for them after school.
“I like working with flowers because they are part of nature,” says one student. “It’s important to protect nature because pollution is increasing and affecting future generations.”
“Floristry helps me relax. Maybe it won't be my profession, but it will certainly remain a hobby. I've even thought about creating wedding bouquets,” says another student.
“I've been coming to floriculture for three years. I like to express my emotions through ecological and natural works,” added a classmate.
Although students have the opportunity to learn concepts related to environmental protection through modules included in subjects like Physics, Geography, Education for Society, and Personal Development, the topic is insufficiently represented in the school curriculum, according to the director of the "Hai, Moldova" association, Nadejda Cebotari.
She believes it is necessary to rethink how these lessons are taught, emphasizing that her organisation’s programmes focus on both student training and teacher instruction.
"At 'Hai, Moldova,' when we develop environmental education programmes, we aim to create a learning environment that is as natural as possible," Nadejda Cebotari adds. "When we learn about forests, this lesson should take place in the forest. If we are learning tree species, then we go outside to learn the tree species. So far, we have developed two environmental education programmes: one is called ‘Eco-School,’ which broadly addresses the topic of ecology, and a programme called ‘Leaf Programme’—education about forests. It is important to plant the seed of love for nature as early as possible."
In Moldova, environmental education is currently an optional subject, which could become mandatory from 2027.
Environmental education in European schools takes various forms, ranging from informal lessons to outdoor classes. For example, in Spain and Italy, this subject is integrated into the school curriculum. France and Romania emphasise sustainable infrastructure, a method of showing how environmental education works and promoting sustainable practices in society.
Another country, Sweden, relies on experiential approaches to shaping ecological behaviours. This means carrying out interactive activities in nature, in urban gardens, forests, or on farms.
Studies have shown that learning through the experience of nature's living world increases students' memorisation capacity in the classroom by 5%.
In France, over 1,000 schools have vegetable gardens to help teach children about respecting the environment.
Another aspect of environmental education promoted throughout the French community is focused on clothing reuse and textile waste reduction. In 2023, the French Ministry of Ecology introduced incentives to encourage people to repair their clothes and shoes. Consequently, French citizens can benefit from discounts ranging from 6 to 25 euros for clothing repairs. The programme is implemented for a period of five years, until 2028, and has a budget exceeding 150 million euros.
Since 2019, Italy has become the first country to mandate education on climate change and sustainable development in public schools, with one hour per week dedicated to these topics in every class.
In the US, Ecology and Environmental Protection is taught daily in high schools, while other pre-university levels have a more modular approach.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
