International studies, such as OECD and PISA tests, show that scientific literacy is quite weak in the most part of the European countries. Moreover most part of the students is generally not very interested in biology and chemistry as a school subject. For example, statistics in our schools show that a small number of students choose scientific studies after the lower secondary stage. Weak students in particular often leave the school without any qualification, becoming very quickly neet (no employement, education or training). On the other hand the development of an active citizenship and a social awareness needs the deep knowledge of all the strategies for a sustainable growth of the planet and the need for equity in the economic development of the world. Only through these actions we can assure the future social cohesion in our society as Europe 2020 stated the growth must be sustainable. Recently, as a result of the economic crisis of the last years, farming has become a more interesting and appealing field for the job market and for the economy, with high rates of employment and rising incomes. Especially in countries affected by the economic crisis such as Italy, lots of unemployed young people are recently turning back to agriculture, winegrowing or farming. Nevertheless, this factor also plays a role in rural German areas. For these reasons we strongly believe that through the setting up of a vegetable garden at school, the farming activity with the twenty students and the identification with the local community by the use of regional products, we can reach different relevant goals which will help students in their growth as responsible citizens and will improve their employability and will fulfill the Europe 2020 priorities. In addition to that, results and activities carried out in the project can be further used in the school curricula. The intention is that tools / methods will be created to transform certain parts of education. The ongoing use of the project's results, to be concrete the school garden and materials produced, shows that the project is based on the concrete needs at each school. There is a clear intention of the boeards of each school that the legacy from this project will continue beyond the scope of the EU funding which guarantees the sustainability of the project's objectives. Furthermore, the students' development and awareness will be encouraged on a personal level through letting the pupils participate by co-operative learning activities and involvement in continuous further development of project results. For teachers, the project means an added value to their professional skills and their development as it will enable them to meet their students' needs and raise their awareness for the use of co-operative learning environments and their profit for the teaching process. This will thus be a gain for the schools, as well. As every school has got a website the data of the project is ensured to be accessible even after the project has ended; therefore the duration and access of that information will rest on each school's web coordinator. We are eager to ensure that the networking with third parties and other organisations such as the museum of agriculture will continue as it is part of our school's development plans. A long-lasting contact and further development of partnership to institutions beyond school motivate and facilitate for pupils to connect school with society and working life. Through previous joint international projects we have shown that this partnership and collaboration will continue in future projects and developments to continue supporting each other in future exchanges and possible further projects. This project will be a part of the curriculum with special focus on co-operative learning forms and development of key competences. All pupils would be encouraged to join future projects spurred on by the experiences of this one.
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.