Ingurumena

Healthy Food at Abusu Ikastola

In order to improve the level of the canteen service, three years ago the school adopted a plan: improving menus, professionalising the staff, open days for parents, etc.

Although somehow the level gradually improved, we thought there were still areas for improvement. So, from Agenda 21, a series of proposals were made on healthy food to the school board. In this sense, in the 12-13 school year, a family made a similar proposal to the management team. Although the matter was initially delayed (it wasn't rejected but other priorities were addressed), the management made the commitment to address the issue during this school year and decided to incorporate an improvement plan in the canteen. This way, after many contacts with the company responsible for the food, we have agreed different steps for the coming years: firstly, to give priority on the menu to seasonal produce, then we'll focus on local produce, next we'll take the vegetables from the school garden to the canteen...

This same year, we have also had the opportunity to enter the Basque Culinary Centre project and through this initiative, for a week, we have had different chefs preparing recipes at school, alongside parents, students and teachers, educating us about food. Both projects have been carried out. In addition to addressing them at all stages, making the most of the fact that the issue is covered in Nursery, Primary and Secondary, healthy eating was covered and different workshops have been carried out, with special focus and attention on the subject.

Andoni Lupianez
Coordinator of School Agenda 21 at Abusu Ikastola

School Agenda 21 Class Notebooks

At the Garazi school we have started the 'Agenda 21 Class Notebook' activity with handmade notebooks made from recycled photocopies.

Any pupil can write in it whenever they want: about School Agenda 21, about things carried out at the school, interesting things that they find at home, on the street or at school, that are good or need to be corrected, their proposals, comments, what they see... as long as it has some relation to the School Agenda 21.

Occasionally what they write is read out in class and those responsible for each class will meet once a month or every two months with the SA21 coordinator to analyse and channel the ideas that arise.

Objectives:

• Facilitating student participation
• Awakening in students the desire to analyse whether we use the resources of our environment well or not
• Making them aware of the need to reuse paper

The notebooks have been a success to spark awareness and participation.

Marije Medina
Coordinator of the School A21 at Legutioko Garazi HHLH

Using cloth handkerchiefs

The main objective of the School Agenda 21 at our school over the last year has been to reduce consumption, especially a reduction in energy expenditure and waste, reuse and recycling.

To make a diagnosis, students proposed a questionnaire for their friends at school, teachers, families, carers and cooking and cleaning staff in order to analyse the situation and make them see that the environment is everyone's responsibility: to see whether we can keep the school clean, what can we do to achieve it, to see whether the students use the material well, whether this material is valued, whether we recycle... They also analysed the separate collection containers and noticed, for example, many paper tissues were thrown away.

To improve the students' habits and the school's situation we ask them to choose something easy and we suggested the use of cloth handkerchiefs. For this, the coordinator told them the story of a handkerchief she uses. It was a gift from her mother, now deceased, and it reminded her of her. The students were very interested.

From there we implemented the idea that arose in the coordination meeting: to give a handkerchief to the students responsible for the Environment Committee and raffle many others among the rest. The students began to ask for this type of handkerchiefs at home, some received them as gifts from their grandparents, others bought them in local shops, and this is how we have recovered a sustainable old tradition. Now we have the challenge to maintain this use, and that will be the task for next year.

This initiative has struck a chord at the school, through the radio, television and magazines, and outside of it, we had the opportunity to tell the story on the Euskadi Irratia Hiri Gorria program. Recovering sustainable old traditions, we have done our bit and now we have to keep it up.

Marga Rodriguez
Coordinator of SA21 -Urdaneta Public School - Ordizia (Gipuzkoa)