The Vitezovi school cooperative has been operating in Grigor Vitez Elementary School, Zagreb for many years. In addition to her, students involved in extracurricular school activities related to the education of students about the plant and animal world, and about the preservation of biodiversity in our school garden, act as associate members. Teams of students are made up of students who study according to the regular, adapted and special curriculum, and in this way they get to know each other, socialize, play and form a group where differences are accepted and welcomed.
Through this way of working, we encourage the integration of students through joint activities both in the school garden and in the classrooms themselves. In their work, students are educated on the use of garden tools, they get to know the basics of gardening: learning how to plant, transplant and propagate vegetable crops. Monitoring plant growth: from seed to fruit. Encouraging responsibility and independence in managing the continuous care of the school garden. Developing entrepreneurship: selling grown seedlings. In this way, students develop awareness of the need to preserve the environment, flora and fauna. Our goals are to make students aware of and familiar with natural phenomena and the factors that affect them through various creative and creative activities and games. By researching and observing natural changes in the environment, we want to contribute to the development of environmental responsibility among students. Also, we want to develop students’ motivation and interest in making different useful and decorative items from waste materials and natural materials. To develop awareness of recycling and savings, and thus also of nature conservation. To acquire knowledge about the cultivation and care of indoor and garden plants, to develop a love for nature, to enrich spaces with plants.
So far, our students have made: a hotel for insects, wooden birdhouses, high beds for vegetables, a compost bin, class boxes for sorting waste, growing rosemary and agave seedlings in the classes that will be planted in the school garden, taking care of the school fragrant garden, planting fruit trees in the school yard, and are active volunteers and participants in various school humanitarian actions.
After our school won a prize at the Bioteka association’s prize competition – in harmony with nature, the school received some guesses that made us very happy. In addition to interesting, educational puzzles “Let’s meet garden helpers”, we also received brochures “Let’s preserve biodiversity – we are all part of the solution”. Children will thus learn through play how to preserve biodiversity and help the Earth to be healthier. In order for us to practically adopt new knowledge, the association Bioteka – in harmony with nature gave us a gift package of seeds that we will sow in the spring in our school garden. We hereby once again thank the association Bioteka – in harmony with nature for the prize won, which will certainly enrich our knowledge about quality conservation of biodiversity in our garden.
Our botanists loosened the compost soil in the school yard and filled the raised bed with quality soil. At the same time, they transferred about 50 earthworms to the new, small garden and learned how valuable, fragile and extremely important these small creatures are for the quality and looseness of the soil. 🪱
