ReFood - Rethink packaging and food! Do you want to know how it can be done? Take a look at our MOTIVATION, our PROFILE, our AIM, our APPROACH and the possible RESULTS of our project. Our MOTIVATION behind the project were our STUDENTS. The students detected the following issue: Every day a lot of packaging and food is thrown away by everyone in school. The students worked out that this is not very SUSTAINABLE. The PROFILES of the TWO participating schools are similar. Both schools provide a general education as well as the same guiding principles ( e.g. inclusion, ECOLOGY, certificates, PARTICIPATION in school, DEMOCRATIC AWARENESS) Furthermore, our students share a middle class socio-economic background. The participating students are between 16 and 18 years old. To ensure a comfortable working atmosphere the students will be matched. These BUDDIES work together throughout the project. As Germany and Spain have a deep economic relationship, especially with regard to the import/ export of agricultural products, it made sense for these two schools to work together on a project regarding food. There are multiple AIMs and BENEFITs of the project. The main aim is to create and to promote the AWARENESS of RESOURCES, which means to consider how we can use resources more effectively. Since there are many aspects, the project focusses on PACKAGING and FOOD WASTE. The project aims at REDUCING the general WASTE so that the environment is less burdened. Additionally, the students are encouraged to be an ACTIVE part of society. Our APPROACH is divided into two parts, both with regard to the HANDLING OF WASTE IN SCHOOL. Although the topic mentioned above involves mutually depending aspects, we decided to divide the project into two years, so that different students get the opportunity to work on two different aspects in detail. This way the students will not be overwhelmed by the complexity of the topic. During the FIRST YEAR, the students are focussing on the HANDLING OF PACKAGING. During the SECOND YEAR, the WASTE OF FOOD will be analyzed. One important pillar of our approach is the COOPERATION with local partners, e.g. a food bank. That way the students can refer to a role model for their practical realization of the strategies. The conditions for the project are diverse in both countries and schools. To include these conditions, we follow a 5-STEP-METHOD. It combines a PERSONAL LEVEL (via E-Twinning) and a SCHOOL LEVEL (during short term activity): - Firstly, the students OBSERVE the habits regarding waste. - Secondly, using strict criteria the participants ANALYZE the production of waste (Packaging/ Food) - Thirdly, starting from this the students DEVELOP trial-and-error strategies suitable for each school. - Fourthly, they APPLY these strategies. - Fifthly and last, the students EVALUATE and ADJUST the taken measures. The second short term activity (C2/C4) can benefit from the trial-and-error strategies developed in the first short term activity (C1/C3). Since our project is based on two aspects (Packaging/ food waste), we follow the method twice. The RESULTS of our project are easily measurable. After the application of our strategies, we hope to find a reduction of waste after the last step of our method (evaluation). This can be proven by simply weighing the amount of waste produced during one school day. Apart from the apparent results, the project offers more PURPOSEs: The students are the most important part of society in the FUTURE. That is why we have to encourage them to be conscious about the future. That means, they are responsible and must be aware of their behavior. Through the young people society can be changed. Restrictively, the project can mainly influence on a local level. A POTENTIAL of the project is the increase of local cooperations and partnerships. Furthermore, the partner schools may establish a long-term work-shop about sustainability. It is desirable for the schools to stay in contact via E-Twinning to exchange their experiences.
ReFood - Rethink packaging and food! The basic idea for this project came about when the pupils of our school identified areas for improvement in their own handling of waste and food waste. From this, the project developed in cooperation with the Gesamtschule Gescher (Germany) and the IES Bezmiliana (Spain) to improve the handling of waste and food waste at the respective schools. One focus of the work is initially to educate the student body and the school environment about the problems in dealing with waste and food waste, for "knowledge is itself power" (Sir Francis Bacon). As a result of this knowledge, the project aims to productively deal with the existing problems of the school in dealing with waste and food waste at both schools. The focus is on improving the handling of existing waste and reducing waste and food waste in general. In its implementation, the project first aimed to survey and analyse the current situation with regard to the two project focal points. For this purpose, the students collected relevant data. They kept waste diaries and weighed the waste at the schools. Based on this data and their observations during the survey, the students re-evaluated the situation. As a result of this initial data collection, the students identified two main areas of work: 1. Separation of waste into residual waste, paper waste and plastic waste 2. Handling rotting apples in the schoolyard (German school) To get a deeper insight into these work priorities, students from both schools worked together on these topics in two project weeks at the two schools. They participated in workshops in both countries where they learned how to consume food and hygiene products without packaging and how to cook without wasting food. They learned about the 5 R's (Reuse, Refuse, Reduce, Rethink & Recycle) and how energy is generated from waste in the two countries. As a result of these findings, the students created posters and presentations, organised the purchase of bins for waste separation and the processing of apples into juice. This work produced results that had a lasting impact on the lives of both school communities. Pupils from both schools benefited from the transfer of knowledge on the issues of waste management and food waste. Overall, the awareness of all those involved in school life was raised with regard to these areas of knowledge. At Gescher Comprehensive School, waste bins for waste separation were also purchased and the pupils of the school were successfully introduced to their use. In addition, apples were collected from the schoolyard by pupils in Gescher in autumn and processed into juice. The resulting juice was eventually sold at the school and the proceeds were donated. These projects will continue to be implemented at the school. The increased awareness has also led to other ideas for improving the handling of waste at the school. For example, students will use reusable bottles and get water from water dispensers in the future.