In Slovakia were 9 schools engaged in the We Eat Responsibly project in 2015. Today there are 60 elementary schools, high schools and kindergartens where students and children learn how to eat responsibly but also how to strengthen the community in their towns. How? Let’s see.
First: Eat responsibly
All the schools were focusing on the responsible consumption so their teachers helped students to discover what’s the story behind their food. At first they talked about what they usually eat and then how their food was produced.
They discovered that food has an impact on natural environment and people in many countries. They also talked about food waste, meat production, palm oil, processed foods, organic and fair trade principles, seasonal food, agrobiodiversity and so on… They managed to cover most of the crucial food issues. Students were pretty surprised that food is not just something we buy in a supermarket. On the contrary, it is actually connected to many different things, people and countries…
Second: Build a community!
During the project, several schools tried to strengthen and engage the local community and achieve some positive changes. They organized several action days – events which should have attract the broader community in their towns. The teachers and students wanted to educate their parents and local people through many interesting activities, such as tasting and comparing bio and processed food.
How many kilometres did your tomato travel?
The elementary school of Janko Matuška in Dolný Kubín prepared a tasting of tomatoes from different sources – local ones and transported from foreign countries. Children and their parents were revealing how many kilometres had the tomatoes traveled and how many litres of water were used for their production and transport. When they compared these numbers with local tomatoes, the right food choice became clear.
Find your local farmer
If you enter the kindergarten of V. Clementisa in Prievidza, the first thing you will see is a map of regional food producers. Kids from this school wanted to inform people in their town how important the regional producers are, so they contacted some of them and organized an event where people could taste their products. There were also many leaflets with addresses, contacts and other information available. The kids also distributed many posters in the town to spread this topic among all citizens.
Let´s go to the streets!
The same issue was important also for pupils from the elementary school of Pavol Križka in Kremnica. They launched a campaign about responsible consumption and drew leaflets with information about the advantages of local food products. The kids added also a list of regional food producers around Kremnica. They were prepared and really motivated, so they went to the streets with a lot of enthusiasm. The choice was clear, the most frequented streets for pedestrians. There, they distributed their leaflets, discussed with people their food choices, and ask them whether they prefer local products and what does responsible consumption means to them.
The Ecoschools wanted to improve their students’ skills such as resolving problems, team and individual work, critical thinking, being creative, active and curious, and also being responsible for their actions. However, students also understood how important the community they live in really is. Their philosophy is simple: create a community of people that inspire others through own change. Because if we can change schools, we can change the world around us as well.
