Croatia is a country with unique and beautiful nature. Teachers from kindergarten Dječji Vrtič „Kolibri“ in Zagreb wanted to teach their children how precious this richly-diverse environment is that surrounds them. This was not that difficult for them, because the Kolibri kindergarten is situated right in the center of the creeks and woods.
Gardens of Kolibri
The teachers of Kolibri know well that a healthy natural environment contributes to the healthy development of their children. This is why they decided to engage in the We Eat Responsibly project, and focus on the issue of biodiversity. Kolibri is a great place, because the children can get to know and appreciate nature from an early age. They get the chance to learn how to discover, love, and protect nature, because the kindergarten has a vegetable garden, a fragrant garden, a flower garden, a hot-house, and an orchard.
Children and teachers used to work together and take care of all plants in their gardens. The youngest ones, for example, are responsible for the flower garden. All of the kids also help to pick and sort fruits, which are used in their meals. The Children often bake excellent apple or plum strudels. They even dry herbs like chamomile, lemon balm, and mint for making tea. There are a variety of other flavors such as lavender, mint, or rosemary for making fragrant sachets that they used to give to their parents. Children also gathered and grinded walnuts.
Precious seeds & a Day of Biodiversity
The teachers also managed to engage parents. They organized a Hanging garden project. For that reason, parents brought many different vegetable seedlings (carrot, tomato, pepper, lettuce, parsley, etc) that were planted in their garden and greenhouse. The hanging garden was placed inside the kindergarten to raise children’s interest and curiosity.
The parents also helped them with a project called Seed Treasury. They collected various vegetable and flower seeds, so that anybody could use this treasury and take seeds they needed. Thanks to this initiative, a seed exchange was established.
The Kolibri kindergarten also celebrated the International Day of Biological Diversity. The youngest children showed their creativity and made a flower meadow with watercolor prints. The older ones used special fragrant watercolors to draw Earth, which they made by adding mint in green color, lemon in yellow, and cacao in brown color. They even organized a tea party using only the herbs they grew themselves. Some kids were also participating in a puppet play or in a play called „ The Market. “
Our Earth = our responsibility
Thanks to Kolibri and its teachers, children were able to learn where their food came from, and what exactly is necessary for its growth and development. They were also encouraged to eat and taste different foods. The teachers were very proud of the curiosity, interest, and responsibility the kids showed. They want to continue in this mission and teach children an important motto: „We know the heaven´s secret, that Earth should be looked after! “
