The current project "Healthy Food, Happy Life" aims to encourage pupils* to work together on the basis of their common European heritage. The interdisciplinary project of the subjects (biology, geography, sports, social studies), some of which are taught bilingually, is the development of a lifestyle and nutrition blog. The aim is a multifaceted, multicultural, scientific and creative examination of the topic of healthy nutrition and sustainable action at regional and European level. The participating pupils* are in the 9th and 10th grade. In preparation, the participants receive impulses through various workshops, which are planned and carried out by the teachers of the participating countries. The German school is organising a workshop on the topic of "regional dining traditions", in which various traditional dishes are prepared and presented in the context of social media. The school from Poland will conduct a workshop on the topic "healthydiets". In its workshop "sustainablefoods", our Czech partner school focuses on sustainability and resource-saving handling of food - in production, transport, sales and disposal. The workshop "food trends online" is conducted by the partner school from Estonia and deals with current food trends and myths. At the beginning of the project the pupils* in multinational teams first develop a project plan (topic, material, time management and model). Teachers and regional partners provide professional support in implementing the ideas. Before the first meeting, the participants of all participating schools, together with teachers, parents, pupils' council and coordinators from the respective regions, collect ideas, pictures, etc., which they then use for the development and design of the blog. During the planned international exchange weeks, the pupils will work in international groups to develop individual contributions for the blog that will be created in the course of the project. In the first year of the project, the focus will be on the sustainable use of food and the media presentation of nutrition and health. As an introduction to the topic, the participants (age 14-16 years) from four different European countries will jointly examine various locally availabe foods for their sustainability, both in terms of their production, packaging and transport. The pupils will design a sustainability sample for food and apply it to their traditional dishes. Practical tips on how to use prepared food in school and everyday life in a resource-saving manner round off this topic area. The focus in this project year will be on current health trends in the media. This includes a critical examination of popular nutrition myths and special diets. Possible products would be nutrition tutorials as well as Dos and Don'ts for a health-promoting change in diet in the form of blog entries. The result of the first project year is the creation of a lifestyle and nutrition blog. The contributions and videos can serve as a stimulus for a permanently healthy lifestyle for participating pupils, teachers, parents, partners and interested people. In the second project year, the focus is on the nutrition and food culture of the partner countries. The participants will jointly develop a digital recipe collection and a nutrition guide. Traditional dishes of the four partner countries are presented in the blog with video instructions and cultural background information. The visual design of the blog may resemble a culinary journey through the regions of the participating European countries, which are represented in the project. Furthermore, basics for healthy nutrition will be developed. Subsequently, relevant information as well as practical tips (according to the traffic light principle, prep meals, relaxation exercises, consequences from nutrition diaries) can be developed for everyday school life and digitally prepared for the blog. The result of the second project year is the continuation of the lifestyle and nutrition blog with a digital recipe collection and a nutrition guide. This will create a platform accessible to all participants with various topics on healthy nutrition and food culture.
The project ‘Healthy Food, Happy Life‘ was conducted in four European countries of which three are Baltic states. Therefore, the topic of plastic pollution in the ocens was added and its impact on our diet was explored. The teachers involved in the project prepared resources for the students to be able to create the expected outcomes. Prior the first visit in the Czech Republic, all the parties involved agreed that the outcome will not be a blog, as planned originally, but a YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@healthyfoodhappylife5131/videos This was created solely for the purpose of this project and is accessible by the public. After every exchange week, one video was uploaded in 6 consecutive weeks and shared by the organising country. It was also agreed that the German and Polish school swap topics, i.e. Poland organised a workshop on ‘regional dining traditions‘ and in Germany the students explored sustainable foods and healthy diets in the local environment. The Czech partner changed its focus to the ocean pollution and how it relates to what we eat. Furthermore, students explored what can be done to improve the condition of oceans. In the Czech Republic students were advised how to create their videos on iPads. Estonia dealt with the food trends and myths, as originally planned and students prepared educational videos including tips on how to avoid those myths and how to maintain healthy lifestyle. In all four countries, students were divided into 6 working groups, in Germany there were 5 groups. All the participating nationalities were mixed in the working groups to encourage international cooperation. Students were supported by the regional partners (local nutritionists, hotels, food shops, local chefs) so that they could implement accurate information into their research and use this acquired knowledge in their educational videos. The project was meant to last 2 years during which the individual exchanges should have been conducted. However, due to force majeure (COVID pandemic), the exchanges were realised within the period of one school year, excluding the teachers meetings. In the first year of the project nobody was allowed to travel due to the pandemic. However, numerous online meetings took place and the overal project schedule was prepared. During the restriction time, all the participating parties put all the effort into efficient planning and preparation. During the second year of the project all the exchanges were realised and the expected outcomes delivered. The educational videos were shared online on the YouTube Channel. The topics included were as follows: plastic pollution in relation to food and how to figth it, food myths and trends including expert advice on how to maintain healthy nutrition and lifestyle, sustainable food shopping, making healthy choices and preparation including healthy recipe collection, regional dining traditions, practical examples of healthy and sustainable diet.