With the first ring of the school bell, the classes at the capital’s Buzema Secondary School started with the future of the planet in mind. At 10:00 we kicked off the Regional closing conference of the “Changing with Climate” project. The classroom quickly filled with students, teachers and experts in the field of education and climate. The conference programme was very dynamic and diverse.
The meeting was opened by Mariana Bancheva, manager of the project, teacher and expert with many years of practice. Minutes later, Kliment Minjov from the Institute for Progressive Education presented in detail the online educational portal KLIMADAPT, including a wide range of information and educational materials related to climate change and possible measures to address it.
Afterwards we moved on to an overview of good practices for tackling climate challenges. Nikolay Petkov from the Energy and Climate team of Environmental Association “Za Zemiata” shared what we should and should not do if we want to protect our planet for future generations. He then in turn invited students and teachers from the capital’s Buzema School to share their ways to get ideas and inspiration.
It turned out that the school has a compost, which it uses to fertilize the fruit trees in the yard. And from the planted herbs in the schoolgrounds they made a 100% natural healing cream for treatment of wounds. Next year they plan to make handmade soaps and even perfume!
Part of the students’ projects at Busema include researching the impact of climate change on soils. The students have collected soil samples, measured the moisture content and composition of the soil, which has helped to draw further conclusions about the state of the soil and the need for hoeing and ploughing. The trainers said that the warming in recent years has allowed unconventional for the land crops to be planted, as it was not previously possible for them to germinate.
Among the educational experts present at the meeting was Mariana Boshnakova, teacher at the Second English Language School “Thomas Jefferson”. She talked about a project of two of her students, dedicated to seasonal nutrition. The children did their own research on why it is advisable to eat seasonal fruits and vegetables. In addition to being healthier and tastier, by choosing them we save energy, transportation costs, emissions, and water. It is important whenever we can to choose home-grown produce, not only to conserve natural resources, but also to support local businesses.
At the end of the conference, the hosts from the Buzema School of Agriculture delighted the guests with thyme, lemongrass, basil and mint seedlings, because there is nothing better than medicinal herbs grown with care and diligence.
