Learning by tilling!

Food education for schools and day-care centres in Germany

"I thought we were planting vegetables today. Where are they?" asks eight-year-old Timo as he enters the school vegetable patch. The gardening teacher points to the seeds and explains to him that carrots, cucumbers, and radishes will one day grow from these tiny grains. Timo is taken aback and can hardly believe it. Scenes like these take place every day in many kindergarten and school gardens, where the GemüseAckerdemie stops by. Some children are apprehensive at first and do not want to touch the "dirty" soil. Spending time in nature is uncommon for many. But curiosity grows with every lesson in the field. The children enjoy moving around and tending the vegetables together. In their own patch of land, the children discover how colourful chard is, smell the scent of ripe tomatoes and wonder when a snail ate all the cabbage. The children's appreciation for food grows along with the vegetables.

Background

Due to the fast pace of our society, excessive consumption and urbanisation, many children and young people lose access to and connection with nature. There is a lack of opportunity to discover nature and experience first-hand how food is produced naturally. Fewer and fewer children know where food comes from and how it is grown (Brämer, 2016). Since a large proportion of food is industrially processed, it is difficult to make the connection (Waskow, 2016). This manifests itself in a lack of appreciation for the food and high levels of waste. This alienation also has a negative impact on eating culture and health (Eberle, 2007): Over 15 per cent of 3- to 17-year-olds in Germany are overweight, almost 6 per cent are obese (RKI, 2018). The main cause is a combination of bad nutrition and lack of exercise.

In Germany, around 12 million tonnes of food are thrown away every year (Thünen Institute, 2019). However, waste and overproduction have a considerable impact on global climate change (Hic, 2016). Due to a lack of sustainability in the use of resources, the loss of habitats and biological diversity continues to advance. This endangers the livelihoods of all people, animals and plants.

The good deed

Your good deed today gives a child a lesson in a vegetable garden. The GemüseAckerdemie is a year-round, theory and practice-based educational programme with the aim of promoting the appreciation of food and an understanding of agriculture among children and young people. Across Germany, participating schools and day-care centres set up vegetable plots on which the children grow around 30 different types of vegetables. From planting to harvesting and processing, they experience the entire process of value creation with regard to their vegetables. Using further educational materials, the children acquire knowledge and skills on the subject of vegetable cultivation and on the global interconnectedness of food production and the effects of their own consumption. Gardening together bears fruit and promotes the appreciation of wholesome food.