During the last year, students from the Zadobrova primary school have been exploring various topics connected with our food. They have been tackling the issue of food waste, investigating problems connected with meat and soy production and exploring the advantages of local and seasonal food compared to food imported from abroad. They also declared Friday a meat-free day!
The problem of food waste at home and at school was one of the key topics that students from Zadobrova primary school addressed over the entire year. They made their own “Food Waste Diary” in which they recorded the amount of food wasted at school and at home. Analyses, photos and thoughts about the consequences of the increasing amount of food waste have been displayed the whole year in a special place in the school hall. In cooperation with the school canteen staff, they managed to reduce food waste by 40 percent!
Visit to Eco-farm.
The children had a chance to experience firsthand how local food is produced. They helped a local farmer pick and sort potatoes and apples, learned how to grow different kinds of vegetables and fruits, took care of domestic animals and prepared traditional dishes from homegrown vegetables. The students used the new knowledge while working in their school garden and orchard and growing seedlings in their classrooms.
Part of school garden.
Based on what they have learned during the schoolyear, students wrote two interesting studies. In the first one they compared organic food grown locally with imported foodstuff sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals, while the second one focused on the ecological and carbon footprint and transportation of food. Based on what they have learned about the negative consequences of excessive meat consumption, it was decided that every Friday will be a meat-free day!
In order to share their knowledge and experience with others, the students attended two events. The first one was part of a project called Ljubljana – a Green Capital. Children placed a stand in front of the Ljubljana Town Hall and used posters to inform passersby about the global aspects of our food consumption. To convince the people that homemade and seasonal food is not only great for the environment but also the most delicious, the students prepared homemade apple jam, apple juice and fresh homemade bread.
The second event was the Altermed Fair, one of the biggest fairs in Slovenia, which is visited by 20,000 people over three days. At their stand, they displayed local and foreign varieties of cabbage and they emphasized the importance of preserving agrobiodiversity.
An eco-day at Zadobrova primary school focused on problems connected with soy, which is used as feed for livestock, and the use of palm oil in our food. Children presented these issues using photos and posters and prepared delicious vegan snacks and vegetable deserts.
An eco-day at Zadobrova primary school.
Last year, 491 students from the school participated in the We Eat Responsibly project and were joined by all teachers, other school staff and parents.
