Our aim is to stimulate communication among students within the schools and to strengthen the sense of community by working with our hands to create joint products and actions. In doing so, both immigrant and disadvantaged and impaired students should be able to identify more easily with the school community. In all schools we want to work with local extracurricular partners and share our experiences with European partner schools, thus opening our schools to the outside world, both locally and in Europe. We want to create an awareness of sustainability and the environment among the next generation. Pupils should experience that they can help shape their future and make a difference. The most important result of this cooperation is a garden at the respective location, in which ideally communication is continued. An exchange with the teachers of the partner schools should take place across national borders so that joint activities can be planned and learning concepts for the Garden of Diversity can be developed. First experiences start with researching and presenting edible plants, examining environmental conditions and joint activities with gardeners and youth centres from the communities. In theory, the pupils will get to know the concept of "Edible Cities". The creation of these gardens should give the pupils at the respective locations the opportunity to examine their own consumption behaviour with regard to food. By processing the products of their own gardens, within the schools and with partner schools, opportunities for exchange will be created. Through the exchange on the topic of "edible plants", the pupils get to know each other and thus discover regional differences and similarities, initially on a culinary level. The pupils become aware of and understand the diversity of Europe through the preparation and follow-up work, but especially through the mutual visits. During the stays, regional peculiarities and similarities are explored. Future questions play a role in each activity: In Spain, action-oriented teaching concepts with a focus on horticulture are on the programme, in Germany the focus is on sustainable, innovative urban greening, in Estonia, the focus will be on recycling, and in Greece, groups of pupils will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of modern food production by learning about traditional food production. Networking skills will be trained and strengthened at different levels. On the one hand, cooperation and communication within the school's internal teams of teachers and staff must be strengthened. Through the planned co-responsibility and co-determination on the part of the pupils, an increased communication across classes and groups is to be achieved, which promotes integration within the school. The project implies cross-curricular work, which should also be included in the school's own curriculum by the respective subject group leaders. In addition, local and regional contacts with local administration, but especially with youth work institutions, are to be intensified. Furthermore, the aim is to use this project as a strategic instrument for the further development of intercultural competences, for integration within the student body and for the internationalisation of the schools. The exchange of experience with parallel European schools should lead to long-term relationships and encourage colleagues and pupils to take part in other European projects. In the Gardens of Diversity, the focus is on edible plants from the pupils' original culture, thus symbolising diversity as an enrichment in a "Garden of Diversity of Cultures in Europe". Such a meeting place for exchange will be created at the same time at the partner schools in Greece, Estonia and Spain in their surroundings. With the metaphor of rootedness we want to make the European dimension of a Europe of diversity with common values visible and tangible. A "Garden of Diversity of Cultures in Europe" makes the abstract tangible with all senses and at the same time offers space for shared experiences and communication. This applies to both the regional and the European dimension.
Within the framework of the project, the participating schools succeeded in promoting communication between the students within their own schools and strengthening the sense of community by creating joint products and organizing activities. Newly immigrated, disadvantaged and impaired students were explicitly involved and benefited from their active participation. Despite difficult conditions under Corona, it was possible to cooperate with local (municipal level) extracurricular partners. The participating schools opened up both locally and on a European level, as the experiences were communicated and reflected within the partner schools. Awareness of sustainability and the environment was raised among all participants. Globally impacting events such as the pandemic and the outbreak of war in Ukraine made the activities and exchanges even more significant. Not only through the design of the school garden and the preoccupation with the topic of sustainability led to the experience of self-efficacy. Through activities such as "Looking positively into the future", the students experienced even more intensively than planned that they can help shape their future and make a difference. Gardens and nature experience rooms have been created at the respective locations, where communication will continue. The exchange of teachers from the partner schools took place over the entire course of the project (including the pandemic period) and will be continued through follow ups. Joint activities were planned and learning concepts for the Garden of Diversity were developed. The concept of "Edible Cities" and the creation of the school gardens acted as a driver for the reflection of culinary and cultural characteristics and the reflection of one's own consumption behavior and its supply and disposal context. By processing the products from their own gardens, within the schools and with the partner schools, a basis for exchange was created. Through the overarching theme of "edible plants", the students got to know each other and thus discover regional differences and similarities, on a culinary, social, historical and political level. Through the preparation and follow-up, but especially through the physical visits, the students got to know and better understand the variety of Europe. Regional characteristics and commonalities were explored during the stays. Future issues played a role in each activity: Networking skills were trained and strengthened at various levels. Collaboration and communication within the school's internal teams of teachers and staff were also strengthened. Students' co-responsibility and co-determination also led to cross-group (inter-class) communication within the schools. The project stimulated cross-curricular work. Local and regional contacts with local government were also strengthened. Intercultural competencies were strengthened and the integration of new immigrants within the student body was promoted. Internationalization was included in the school program of all participating schools, if not previously anchored. The exchange of experiences with European parallel schools led to long-term relationships and further European projects. In the gardens of diversity that have been created, plants symbolize variety as enrichment in a "Garden of variety of cultures in Europe". Concrete and abstract places of encounter and exchange have been created. Through the metaphor of rootedness, the European dimension of a Europe of diversity with common values was thematized and made tangible through physical exchange. The "Gardens of the Diversity of Cultures in Europe" now makes the abstract tangible with all the senses and at the same time offers space for shared experiences and communication. The resulting experiential spaces will continue to be available for both regional and European encounters in the future.