| GemuseAckerdemie (Vegetable Academy, Acker meaning field) | |
| Brief Description | Children seem to have lost their contact to nature and therefore show a fundamental lack of knowledge about their food’s origin. The GemüseAckerdemie, meaning Vegetable Academy, aims to re-establish this lost contact and knowledge between children and the nature. The project started as a pilot in 2013 and since then, has expanded its operation to multiple co-operations with schools and kindergartens. The program involves training for teachers, as well as lessons for the children on the theory of growing food, followed by practical implementation of the knowledge. Children were responsible for tilling the school garden, including sowing, fostering, and harvesting. The project is meant to engage not only the children, but also their teachers and parents, who are included in the learning process and are hopefully inspired through their children’s experiences. The annually conducted impact reports clearly show that the initiative has a significant impact on participants’ way of thinking and acting; they feel more involved with nature and value their food more, now that they have experienced how much work it can be to grow crops. Aside from the evidence showing the Vegetable Academy’s success, the acknowledgements and prizes that the project has been awarded in the last couple of years speak also to its success. |
| Image | – |
| European Country(s) | Austria, Germany, Switzerland |
| Field | Living/Green spaces: Urban (food) gardens, Consuming: Sustainable Production, Consuming: Healthy and Sustainable Consumption |
| Type | Intervention |
| Impact | Health, Equity, Environmental sustainability |
| Status | Ongoing |
| Target Group | Children & adolescents |
| Evaluation | Yes |
| Level | Local |
| INHERIT Perspective | This project has been chosen for inclusion due to its potential benefits for health, wellbeing and health equity. Children learn about healthy food and nutrition and how to cultivate food. The feedback received from children and their parents demonstrates that it positively influences their eating habits. At the same time, the intervention improves the school/day-care environment by creating new green spaces. It also enables behaviour change by teaching children the capabilities for growing their own food, gives them the opportunity by physically installing the gardens and provides motivation by making it a fun part of the classes in school. |
| Detailed description PDF filename | Download file |
| Relevant links | http://www.gemüseackerdemie.de |
| Contact | Christoph Schmitz, info@ackerdemia.de |
