Located in Alverca and part of the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira, the school has around 1000 students aged between 10 and 15 years. Although this county is known for its natural and gastronomic heritage, where urbanism and rurality combine, students know less and less about the origin of what they eat, particularly about vegetables.
This living-lab project began with the calculation of the students’ ecological footprint, who recognized that the high values obtained were partially due to the way they dealt with the consumed food. From there, curiosity led them to try to find out about the environmental impact of the meals served in the school canteen. Students monitored the service and identified problems related to both food waste management and food education. Then, they propose an action plan to solve these problems.
The solutions, to be developed together with the societal actors, include workshops on nutrition, organic waste management and composting, the dynamisation of a school garden, and the creation of sustainable and healthy food recipes.
CONTACT
Gisela Oliveira
National coordinator, Ciência Viva
Mail
School website