Green Take-Off — environmental responsibility in paragliding instruction
Paragliding Club Paradigma Krapina, together with partners from Slovenia and Serbia, has started implementing the Erasmus+ Sport project Green Take-Off (GTOFF). Over 18 months we will develop and test an instructor training module that embeds environmental responsibility into everyday practice at launch and landing sites. The first phase is a needs analysis — instructors and pilots will soon be invited to take part in a survey.
Green Take-Off (GTOFF) is an 18-month Erasmus+ Sport Small-Scale Cooperation Partnership addressing the environmental footprint of grassroots paragliding and hang-gliding. While the flight itself is zero-emission, ground operations put pressure on the environment: trampling on fragile launch slopes causes vegetation loss and erosion, equipment moving between sites can carry biosecurity risks, and limited awareness of wildlife buffer zones disturbs sensitive habitats.
The root cause is the absence of structured tools that turn environmental principles into repeatable operational habits. GTOFF equips 15 grassroots instructors (5 each from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia) with a modular, behaviour-based training module — embedding environmental stewardship in the same mechanisms that already transmit safety culture: briefings, checklists and field practice.
| Acronym | GTOFF — Green Take-Off |
| Project number | 101330302 |
| Programme | Erasmus+ Sport — Small-Scale Cooperation Partnerships (ERASMUS-SPORT-2026-SSCP) |
| Duration | 1 Oct 2026 – 31 Mar 2028 (18 months) |
| Granting authority | European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) |
| Organisation | Društvo jadralnih padalcev Albatros Celje, Slovenia |
| Contact person | Srečko Jošt, Project Coordinator |
| srecko.jost@guest.arnes.si |
| Slovenia | Društvo jadralnih padalcev Albatros Celje (coordinator) |
| Croatia | Klub padobranskog jedrenja Paradigma Krapina (partner) |
| Serbia | Sports Union "Extreme Sports", Arilje (partner) |
Oct – Dec 2026
Survey of instructors and pilots, analysis of current practice in three countries.
Jan – Jun 2027
Training module, briefing templates, checklists and field scenarios.
Jul – Dec 2027
Instructor training and real-world use of the module in three clubs.
Jan – Mar 2028
Validation, national launch events, EU webinar and open-access publication.
All results will be published here and on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform, free of charge under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-SA).
| December 2026 | Needs Analysis Report — in preparation |
| December 2027 | Pilot Evaluation Report — in preparation |
| March 2028 | GTOFF Instructor Training Module + Toolkit (HR, SL, SR + English summary) — in preparation |
| March 2028 | Integration Recommendations for national instructor training systems — in preparation |
| March 2028 | EU Policy Brief and Adaptation Guidance for other outdoor sports — in preparation |
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.