As part of the International Evaluation 2022/2023, Blue Flag International invited the National Operators to share the Best Practice examples, which were related to the two topics: Climate Change Education and Climate Action, and Blue Flag programme and synergies/joint activities with other FEE programmes.
All the best practice examples were then presented to the International Jury during the International Jury meeting and were evaluated based on their reproducibility, accessibility and impact.
The best practices examples were evaluated separately for the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, and the top 3 best practices chosen will be promoted on Blue Flag social media in 2023.
The final ranking for the top three best practices from the Northern Hemisphere for the category “Climate Change Education and Climate Change Action” is as follows:
Summer Academy for Environmental Educators
Skyros Municipality, Greece
Simple Beach, as in Simple Life
MRG BUILD Ltd, Bulgaria
Odesa beach efforts to improve conditions for disabled visitors
Odes'ka Oblast State Administration, Ukraine
However, the International Jury have also awarded a special mention to multiple Best Practice examples in the same category:
Renewable energy with solar panels - Lagunen Camping, Sweden
Traditional lifesaving exercise week - Kyiv, Ukraine
A Night with Moon and Stars - Corinth, Greece
© Skyros Municipality (Summer Academy for Environmental Educators - Greece)
The second category “Synergies/joint activities with other FEE programmes” ended up with the following results:
1. The Impact of Plastics
Geroskipou Municipality, Cyprus
2. 30 Years of Blue: A History of the Blue Flag Programme in County Clare
Clare County, Ireland
3. From forest to sea, and sea to forest - LEAF and Blue Flag environmental education
Fujisawa, Japan
The following best practices were awarded special mention in this category:
Exhibition of children drawings “I want to grow near the clean sea” – Palanga, Lithuania
Installation of the fish spawning grounds - Limbaži , Latvia
Magic Touch to Nature, 5 Short Films by Eco-Schools - Alanya Municipality, Turkey
Eco-Schools in the Blue Flag beach - Wando County, South Korea
© Geroskipou Municipality (The Impact of Plastics Addressed by the Geroskipou Municipality - Cyprus)
The top 3 best practices for the Southern Hemisphere selected by International Jury on 14th September 2022 for the “Climate Change Education and Climate Change Action” category are the following:
1. Living Sand Project
Guarujá, Brazil
2. Signing of the agreement for the conservation and management of the coastal zone
Dominican Republic
3. Clean Energy with Solar panels
Iate Clube de Santa Catarina, Brazil
© Guarujá Municipality (Living Sand Project - Brazil)
For the Southern Hemisphere, the winning Best Practice of the category “Synergies/joint activities with other FEE programmes” is:
Eco-Schools at a Blue Flag beach
Vega Baja Municipality, (Puerto Rico)
© Vega Baja Municipality (Eco Schools at a Blue Flag beach - Puerto Rico)