The “Pedagogical Gardens” project, being developed at the Cândido Guerreiro Professional School – Alte, was awarded an Honorable Mention in the School Scope Work category of the António Sérgio Cooperation and Solidarity Award, created by the António Sérgio Cooperative for the Social Economy – CASES.
The information was released this Monday, January 8th, by Escola Profissional de Alte, which clarifies that the School Scope Works category “aims to reward works produced by the school community that involve students and teachers in the experience and dissemination of theories and practices in area of the Social Economy sector in Portugal, in the areas of solidarity and social support, cooperation and intercooperation, integration into school and family life, inclusion of new students, local development, volunteering, participation and citizenship, innovation and social, environmental and technological; or in works on the personality, civic activity and work of António Sérgio».
The “Pedagogical Gardens” Project aims to raise awareness among the school community about the need to build new models of development and sustainable consumption, in which local products are consumed and healthy lifestyles are found.
The vegetable gardens, installed in the school's outdoor space, are “adopted” by the school's students who, under the coordination of a teacher, guarantee the production of vegetables, aromatic herbs and teas.
According to the School, the organic compost used in the gardens comes from the FertiAlte Project – Composting Unit in Alte, under the responsibility of EPA, CIPRL, the entity that owns the school, which created a pilot community aerobic composting unit in the village of Alte, and which collects and transforms organic waste into compost in restaurants, grocery stores, supermarkets and local institutions, with the aim of promoting the circular economy and sustainability.
The cultivated products are used to make soups and salads consumed at school meals. Aromatic herbs and teas are used for infusions and flavored waters used in the school cafeteria, and surpluses are used in the production of sweets, jams, cakes, liqueurs, biscuits and other products, which are subsequently sold at fairs and local markets in in which the school participates, as well as in the Pedagogical Shop, a space created with students from the Professional Commercial/Technical Course to develop simulated sales practice activities.
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