In order to transfer the results to practitioners from other countries, the TREES project created its first international e-learning course, “Theatre with an Environmental Conscience,” offering theatre-makers across Europe and beyond an opportunity to explore how performing arts can foster ecological awareness and climate action. Developed based on material created by DAH Theatre (Serbia) and coordinated online by Action Synergy (Greece), the course transferred the innovative methodology of Dancing Trees—an award-winning eco-performance—into a structured digital training accessible to artists, educators, and cultural practitioners worldwide.
The course aimed to equip participants with the artistic, scientific, and civic tools needed to integrate environmental themes into performance-making. Through a combination of theoretical content, practical exercises, case studies and reflective assignments, learners discovered how theatre can “speak with the environment, not just about it.” The programme emphasised interdisciplinarity, blending dance, theatre, video, poetry, music and scientific facts to create performances rooted in ecological consciousness.
The online format was fully asynchronous and delivered through the Action Synergy e-learning platform, allowing participants to study at their own pace. In addition, two live webinars provided opportunities for direct interaction with trainers and peers. In the first edition of the course, more than 80 people registered—primarily from Ireland, Germany, Serbia, the Netherlands, Greece and Spain, but also from the United States and elsewhere. Participants included actors, directors, educators, students, visual artists and environmental experts. Notably, 36% were newcomers to environmental art-making, highlighting the course’s role in opening the field to new voices.
The training was structured into seven modules. Early modules introduced the TREES project, the Dancing Trees methodology and the scientific background on climate change and deforestation. Subsequent modules explored artistic language and multidisciplinarity, research practices, community engagement, promotion, and European case studies from the partner theatres. The course concluded with a final assignment in which participants developed their own concept for an eco-theatre performance.
DAH Theatre’s trainers—Dijana Milošević, Jadranka Anđelić and Ivana Milenović Popović—guided learners through the methodology, while the wider TREES partnership (from Greece, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands) contributed examples, tools and video materials. The course thus became a practical introduction to a broader European network of organisations committed to environmentally conscious performance.
Participants responded with strong motivation, citing a desire to merge art and activism, learn new methodologies, and join an international eco-arts community. The course succeeded in creating a shared space for reflection, creativity and collaboration—demonstrating how digital learning can support cultural innovation and civic engagement.
By transforming the Dancing Trees methodology into an accessible online format, the TREES project ensured that its practices will continue to inspire theatre-makers long after the project’s completion. The course stands as a significant contribution to the growing movement of artists using performance to address the climate crisis and promote sustainable futures.
The project e-learning platform will be open for future trainings. Interested partcipants can apply through the following link: https://forms.gle/yAjzT33nAvVghyoG7