Comparative Results & Discussion

Introduction

Following the implementation of workshops and training activities within the EcoCraft project, a final survey was conducted among students and staff to evaluate changes in awareness, attitudes, and behaviour related to sustainable practices. The results were compared with baseline data collected during the initial survey to assess the project’s impact on participants’ environmental competences and readiness to apply eco-friendly solutions in school environments.

The comparison focuses on four key thematic areas defined in the project proposal:

reduction of plastic use
awareness and application of bioenzymes
use of eco-friendly alternatives to pesticides
adoption of zero-waste practices and natural products

Results

Plastic Use Frequency

The most visible behavioural change was recorded in the frequency of plastic use at school/work.

Initial survey

Daily: 32.6%
Several times per week: 33.7%
Rarely: 30.5%
Never: 3.2%

Final survey

Daily: 16.7%
Several times per week: 34.4%
Rarely: 46.7%
Never: 2.2%

This represents a nearly 50% reduction in daily plastic use, alongside a substantial increase in participants reporting rare use. The shift confirms that project activities (eco-packaging demonstrations, beeswax wraps, and awareness workshops) contributed to measurable behavioural change.

Knowledge of Bioenzymes

Awareness and understanding of bioenzymes was identified as the largest knowledge gap in the initial survey. The final survey demonstrates strong improvement:

53.3% reported significantly improved knowledge
43.3% reported somewhat improved knowledge
only 2.2% reported no change
1.1% reported decreased knowledge

Overall, 96.6% of participants reported knowledge improvement, confirming that workshops on bioenzyme production and application successfully addressed the initial training need identified at project start.

Use of Eco-friendly Alternatives to Plastic

Following the introduction of beeswax packaging and alternative materials:

32.2% reported always using eco-friendly alternatives
62.2% reported sometimes using them
only 5.6% reported never using them

Compared to baseline behaviour dominated by frequent single-use plastic consumption, this indicates a strong transition toward sustainable material choices.

Eco-friendly Alternatives to Pesticides

Project activities also influenced awareness of environmentally safer plant protection methods.

Although some respondents remained unfamiliar with pesticide usage at institutional level (56.7%), the survey confirmed increased awareness of alternatives through training and demonstrations. Participants reported greater exposure to natural insecticides, plant-based protection solutions, and bioenzymes as viable substitutes.

This aligns with the project objective of introducing sustainable agricultural practices into vocational education environments.

Willingness to Reduce Plastic and Pesticide Use

Baseline willingness to reduce plastic and pesticide use averaged:

Initial survey: 4.12 / 5

Final survey: 4.46 / 5

The increase confirms that project participation strengthened participants’ motivation to implement sustainable practices in everyday school activities.

Zero-Waste Cooking Awareness and Application

In the initial survey:

familiarity with zero-waste cooking: 76%
willingness to apply techniques: 4.2 / 5

In the final survey:

participants reported improved familiarity with zero-waste concepts after project participation, and continued high willingness to apply techniques in practice. Workshops on honey authenticity, natural lip balm production, mead preparation, and sustainable food use contributed directly to strengthening this competence area.

Understanding Natural Alternatives to Industrial Products

EcoCraft workshops produced particularly strong learning outcomes:

participants overwhelmingly reported improved understanding of natural alternatives to chemically processed products (e.g. honey authenticity testing, lip balm production, fermentation processes).

This confirms the effectiveness of hands-on learning approaches used during implementation.

Discussion

Comparison between baseline and final survey results demonstrates clear progress across all target indicators defined in the project proposal.

The most significant improvements were observed in:

reduction of daily plastic use
awareness of bioenzymes
adoption of eco-friendly packaging alternatives
willingness to apply sustainable practices
understanding natural production methods

The shift from frequent plastic use toward occasional use represents the strongest behavioural change recorded. Similarly, the near-universal increase in knowledge about bioenzymes confirms that the training activities successfully addressed the main knowledge gap identified in the initial survey.

Participants also showed increased readiness to replace conventional cleaning and plant protection products with environmentally safer alternatives, supporting the integration of green competences into vocational education practice.

Workshops based on experiential learning proved particularly effective in strengthening environmental awareness and practical sustainability skills.

Conclusion

The comparative analysis confirms that the EcoCraft project achieved its primary objectives in strengthening sustainable competences among students and staff.

Key outcomes include:

significant reduction in daily plastic use
substantial increase in bioenzyme awareness
improved readiness to apply eco-friendly plant protection methods
strengthened adoption of zero-waste practices
improved understanding of natural alternatives to industrial products

The results demonstrate that targeted workshops combined with practical demonstrations can produce measurable behavioural change within vocational education environments and support the integration of sustainability principles into everyday school practice.