Sustainable lifestyle - workshop for young (year 6-14) children

What did you organize, when, where and for how many people? 

We organized a three-hour-long participatory workshop for young children (between 6-14) about sustainable lifestyle, such as what is local and seasonal food, vegetables and fruits; and how you can travel in a sustainable way in cities. The workshop took place on the 11/06/2018 in a public park on II. János Pál pápa square, Budapest, Hungary. Around 20-25 children participated in the workshop who came from the nearby primary school. The workshop was organized in cooperation with the primary school and Cargonomia open collective.

What were the main goals and objectives of the activity?

We aimed to emphasise the importance of local food production and to motivate children to eat local, healthy food via participatory activities and a games. In addition to sustainable food systems, we also aimed to raise attention about bike security, and also to promote cargo bike usage in every day life. Also, we expect them to be more aware about urban pollution caused by cars, and when they will have to chance to decide between car and bike they will choose the more sustainable bike as a tool of transportation.

What were the main outcomes and results of the activity? 

During the activity students became aware about the difference between locally and not-locally grown vegetables. They also learned about seasonal food production. The participatory activities, the touching and moving the vegetables and fruits provided a first hand experience for them. These activities were followed by discussion to clarify their questions. They also learned about bike repairing – but instead of giving lectures we have asked them to share their own experiences in a facilitated way, learning from peer-to-peer. Food and bike activities were followed by cargo bike trial, when the children could experience this sustainable way of transportation and could ask questions related to this activity.

Are there any other relevant aspects related to the activity, a conclusion or future plan? 

During the workshop we could experience new methods to involve children in urban gardening and sustainable mobility. We believe that the participants in addition to enjoying the event have learned many new things related to sustainable food production, consumption and mobility. The method seems adequate for such a workshop, and it can be easily modified according to the age group. It is a great tool to work with children about these issues, therefore the Cargonomia collective plans to further use these methods during future workshops.