The European initiative Creative Story-Tellers (CST) successfully concludes its mission to transform how sustainability is introduced in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Funded by the Erasmus+ programme, the project engaged educators across Austria, Finland, Germany, Greece, and Portugal, equipping them with innovative methods to help children explore global challenges through creativity and storytelling.
Key Achievements of the Creative Story-Tellers Project
- The Creative Story-Tellers SDG in ECEC Framework
CST SDG in ECEC Framework: Provides a practical, age-appropriate approach to integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in early childhood classrooms through the CST 5Ps model (People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership).
👉 Available here.
- The Creative Story-Tellers Academy – Training ECEC Staff Across Europe
The CST Academy provided a structured webinar programme to strengthen educators’ competences in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through creative and digital storytelling.
The Academy combined expert input with real practice from CST partner kindergartens and was organised into three core modules:
- Sustainability Education in ECEC – introducing the SDGs and how ESD can be embedded naturally into daily routines
- Creative Storytelling in ECEC – using movement, music, images, and co-creation as pedagogical tools
- Digital Tools for Storytelling – simple photo, audio, and animation tools to enhance children’s stories
Across the webinar series, more than 70 participants joined live sessions, contributing questions, sharing examples, and enhancing cross-country exchange.
👉 All recorded webinars are available here.
- Creative Story-Tellers Toolkit – Online Moodle Course for Educators
The CST Toolkit is a hands-on, interactive Moodle course created specifically for educators who want to bring sustainability into everyday teaching. Packed with ready-to-use activities, practical classroom examples, and creative storytelling techniques, the Toolkit equips teachers with simple, effective tools to spark children’s curiosity, foster empathy, and engage them meaningfully with global issues from an early age. It’s designed to make sustainability education both easy to implement and highly impactful in the classroom.
This online course encourages educators to make ESD a natural, playful, and joyful part of preschool life.
👉 Available here in EN & PT.
👉 Available here in DE.
- CST in Action – Real Stories from Classrooms Across Europe
CST in Action showcases how educators, children, and families brought the CST approach to life. Partners across the five countries implemented CST methodologies in their classrooms, transforming the Framework, Academy, and Toolkit into hands-on activities.
These stories highlight how children explored sustainability through:
🎨 art |🎭 role play |🎵 music |📸 digital storytelling |🌱 nature-based exploration
Educators reported increased creativity, cooperation, curiosity, and an improved understanding of how sustainability connects to children’s immediate environment.
🌍 Impact and Legacy
Throughout its implementation, Creative Story-Tellers has:
- Strengthened the capacity of educators to integrate sustainability into early learning
- Promoted creative, culturally responsive, and engaging teaching methods
- Provided open-access tools and resources for long-term use
- Supported kindergartens in building storytelling-rich learning environments
- Demonstrated how the SDGs can be translated into simple, meaningful experiences for children aged 3–6
The project leaves behind a robust collection of freely accessible resources, ensuring lasting impact for educators, kindergartens, and training institutions.
Learn more and get involved!
Follow the Creative Story-Tellers project for updates, resources, and future initiatives: