School gardening – a new approach for science in school Erasmus Project

Project Title

School gardening – a new approach for science in school

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Natural sciences; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The project has been carried out in a mixed Italian and German middle school level context. Students from both countries aged 13-15 have participated throughout the whole project, which was accompanied by language, art and science teachers from both schools. In the course of the project, three visits (two in Italy and one in Germany, see dates indicated in the report) were realized, a fourth and last one in March 2020 in Germany had to be cancelled due to the Corona virus.

Activities that have been carried out as previously planned included research on growing conditions and plants used in the project. That means useful plants growing in both gardens were examined and presented to each other in mixed language groups. During the visits there was a focus on locally grown products in both countries. Beyond that, shared cooking sessions with both local products and self-produced products in the gardens were included in every visit. Using hands-on and art-based methods, staining and colouring activities with the products were regularly included in both countries.

Among the results of the projects was the production of a cooking recipe book, which was regularly adapted, added to and further completed in the course of the visits. These results were used in science lessons at both schools relating to the school gardens’ products and could, thus, be integrated in the schools’ curricula. In order to allow a deeper insight in scientific matters, a so-called ‘Forscherheft / Cuaderno dell naturalista’ (a booklet of fact files of plants and seeds, as well as observations and experiments) was created and respectively adapted during the visits and in the lessons. Therefore, the use of the gardens will be a core part of the school curricula and will be integrated for long-term usage, in the form of production, experimentation with and further usage of products locally produced. A long-term use of students’ / project results is that students gained an insight in self-supply as this was one topic that was regularly brought up in the course of the project.

As project results should be shown to both school communities and the public, videos as well as movable walls and photo series were created and exchanged by both partners during and beyond the visits so that also school communities and local institutions were included. In the course of the project, newspaper reports were regularly published in local papers and both schools’ websites were regularly updated during and between project visits. Between personal visits, regular work went on in both project schools in the form of either project work in science and art lessons (Italy) or extra-curricular activities (Germany).

Furthermore, extra-curricular learning locations were included in both countries (Freilichtmuseum am Kiekeberg in Germany and the olive production cooperative company POG S.C.A. in Italy). In Germany, a visit in a local museum for agriculture was planned in March 2020 (Landwirtschaftsmuseum Hösseringen).

As one basic goal was the creation and ongoing usage of a school garden in both parter schools, the gardens will still be further used (Italy) and further established (Germany) after the project end. For that, project results will be amended and used as a basis for further development. The combination of hands-on activities / learning and a scientific approach to work has proved to be a key action in the development and deepening of knowledge, especially for ‘weaker’ or disadvantged students.

As another basic goal of the project was the increase of motivation of students and promotion of interest in the scientific / agricultural sector, the established connection and contact to extra-curricular learning places will be amended and further intensified. In the background of the current economic situation in both countries, which will be even more difficult in the following years / months, a job perspective in the agricultural section might be more and more appealing for students in both cities in the future.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 38816 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasium Munster & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Istituto comprensivo Casati