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Study visit, Slubice, Poland September 2009 a report (Edited version for www.athenryadc.com )

 The purpose of a study visit was to generate an exchange of experience and good practice between the country we visited and the countries we all come from in order that participating in a study visit can be an exciting experience and an important learning tool for all.

Examples of good practice among hosts and participants:

 Approaches taken by participating countries (both host and participants’) regarding the theme of the visit:

The approaches to Education for Sustainability (EfS) and organic farming in the nine countries

In Denmark there are agriculture schools that try to introduce the values of sustainable organic farming, but unfortunately the number of students who could apply for these courses are declining.

In Poland there are two specialized vocational schools in organic farming and organic farming is taught in a few universities, but only theoretically.

In Germany organic farming and sustainability is only a relatively small part in education in agricultural schools. 

In France organic farming has been introduced in some training farms in the farming education system, whereas others are still entirely conventional, but efforts are made to extend the importance of organic practises through the education of farmers.

In Turkey organic farming has been on the agenda since the beginning of 90s but it’s mostly on a theoretical level at the agricultural faculties of universities. The National Education curriculum contains the subject of Agriculture for primary and secondary school but as it is optional and there is a lack of teachers in this area it is not very functional. There seems to be a need for more practical studies in this area.

In the UK the Soil Association has championed organic farming and has supported educational initiatives, it has lists of organic farms that offer education visits and activities on the soil association website.

Organic farming education has only been introduced at university level in Bulgaria. Currently there is only an intention to introduce it in the curriculum at vocational level – i.e. secondary schools for Agriculture.

Some differences:

So while there are common approaches, there are also differences and these differences seem mainly linked to the length of time a country has been engaged in promoting organic agriculture, represented on the study visit were presented and discussed by the participants.  EfS was recognised by all participants as an approach to education that required experiential learning as well as theoretical learning and that this is especially the case with regard in teaching EfS through organic farming.  EfS and sustainability generally are concepts that are widely debated and definitions often disputed, but despite coming from different educational sectors there was a high degree of consensus about the approach to EfS. All participants valued the experiential learning approach of farm visits. The project approach to EfS demonstrated by the visit to the gymnasium was a familiar strategy common to many other countries.  Several of the challenges faced by teachers in Poland were also familiar to participants, such as having to deliver EfS through extracurricular activities and rely on support from NGOs. All participants reported official positive support for EfS from their own education authorities in terms of policy, but often this was not backed up in practice.

Common Ground:

With regard to organic agriculture there was also a significant amount of common ground between participants. Participants were familiar with the strong arguments that are made for organic agriculture in order to produce healthier food, protect biodiversity and reduce dependence on fossil fuel resources. Support for organic farming varied between countries represented, but in general support was limited and there was a need to increase organic farming education. There is a lack of combined activity between organic farming and EfS directly on farms. Initiatives to promote this combined activity would be very useful for EfS in all sectors of education. 

Challenges:

Challenges faced by participating countries (including host) in their efforts to implement policies related to the theme of the visit.
The major challenges facing the implementation of EfS through organic farming appeared similar in all the participating countries. In EfS the common challenge is that governments and authorities all make policies which contain strong statements about the need for EfS, but the reality is that resources are not provided for EfS to the same extent as other areas of education. For example EfS is a legal requirement in France but it is not present in the examinations for qualifications which is holding back progress; in Poland while regional authorities commend EfS they rely on NGOs to deliver it. In the England the government has produce a framework for sustainable schools, but is relying on NGOs and local authorities to help schools deliver this.

Common Ground:

With regard to organic agriculture there was also significant commonality between the countries represented on the study visit.  All the countries have policies to promote and increase organic farming, but it is difficult to for organic agriculture to break through into mainstream markets because of established structures supporting conventional agriculture. Examples from participating countries include the following.

The policy on Organic Farming in Ireland is to increase the organic sector from 1% to 5% in 2015.

Danish national government supports organic farmers through a national cooperative to inform and teach consumers www.okologi.dk

In Poland the potential for organic production is high, but all the farmers visited found it difficult to compete with conventional production.

There is an approved “National plan for development of organic farming” in Bulgaria for the period 2006 – 2013. The main goals of the plan are that by 2013, 3 % of the food sold in Bulgaria will be organic and 8 % of the arable land to be managed by organic methods.

Some Solutions

Effective and innovative solutions identified that participating countries (both host and participants) apply to address the challenges mentioned in question

Introduce EfS into teacher training to enable teachers to capitalise on the rich educational resource contained within the organic farming sector, e.g. the Irish participant has provided teacher courses at his school with an organic garden to show how to integrate organic food production and EfS into the curriculum.

Linking schools with organic farms to provide experiential learning opportunities, e.g. Ziarno in Poland and the Soil Association in the UK

Lobby education authorities to support this aspect of education and increasing the practical provision in agricultural education, e.g. Denmark has a school devoted to organic farming, Bulgaria has introduced courses in its Agricultural University

 Policies and practices which could be easily transferred to other countries:

Using organic farms as places for education

Linking schools with organic farms

Creating an organic garden in a school and using it as a vehicle to deliver all aspects of the curriculum.

Using NGOs like Ziarno in Poland to provide a bridge between schools, organic farms and local communities.

These practices would be easily transferable as all countries have some organic farms and schools are generally looking for experiential learning opportunities.  They are also relatively low cost solution which contribute to preparing the population of the EU for changes in food production resulting from climate change and reduced oil resources.

Creating education institutions devoted to organic farming such as the example from Denmark would be less transferable due to the costs involved and due to the resistance of the established conventional colleges.

Areas of mutual interest:

The Turkish participant (primarily teacher) has identified schools in Poland and in the participants’ countries where cooperation is a distinct possibility.

The Bulgarian partner from Agricultural University – Plovdiv has agreed to cooperate with the Warsaw Agricultural University in teaching and research around organic farming.

The Irish partner has agreed to continue cooperation with some of the participants and the host organisation on sustainable development issues

This was a unanimous decision by all partners that we must apply, with the host organisation, for funding to develop a lifelong learning project developing the educational (EfS) potential hidden in organic farms. The outputs from the project could be used both by farmers and agricultural advisors and by teachers and educators.

The UK participant would like to take part in a project to develop an understanding of systems thinking, though organic farming.

The German partner would like to cooperate with a regional Agricultural Extension Centre in Plock.

The Danish partner would like to cooperate with vocational education and training centres to improve the possibility for students to access education opportunities outside their own country

Interesting/useful information that the group believes should be communicated to others:

Education about organic food production is an important part of EfS and it is of educational value to all in the formal and non-formal sectors of education including lifelong learners.  It relates to human health and it is an excellent vehicle for teaching systems thinking, which is a fundamental principle of EfS.

Recognise the “farmer” as an educator and organic farms as educational resources. To enable this to happen certain actions need implementing:

Networks need to be established in order to facilitate cooperation between teachers and farmers.

Provide educational materials and teacher education courses to train teachers how to maximise the educational benefits of organic farms and integrate it into their curricula.

There are common problems across the EU with regard to organic farming and EfS, therefore there is the potential to cooperate to resolve these problems and prevent creating duplicate solutions, while recognising all solutions must take account of local contexts.

Young people, particularly young farmers, should be given the opportunity to visit different EU countries and meet organic farmers, as this learning experience is valuable not only for gaining knowledge of alternative farming methods, but also for broader citizenship education and international understanding.

These findings should be communicated to the following:

Education authorities

EU networks related to EfS and organic farming

Organic food and farming associations in member countries

NGOs supporting EfS 

Summary:

One of the strengths of the team was its diversity. Participants represented diverse professional occupations and backgrounds.  This included different types of educational institutions, local development organisations and enterprises.

The entire group agreed that Ziarno, the host association, managed the preparation and delivery of the programme in a very professional manner. In particular the main venue for the Study Visit and the facilitation of the host enabled this diverse and compact group to share ideas and information openly and constructively and facilitated the transfer of knowledge and exchange of experience in a most enjoyable way.

Sustainable development is concerned with recognising different perspectives:

This study visit has been very successful in presenting the group with five different perspectives on education and organic agriculture, these are the perspectives of:

the farmer

the seller marketing the produce

the student of organic agriculture

the academic teaching organic agriculture

the consumer.

This was an exceptional Study Visit because of the people involved.  Although the participants were all from different countries and represented different sectors of education, from the very first session there was a willingness to share and learn together, an attitude which grew stronger as the week progressed. Every participant agreed that they had gained a great deal from the visits organised in Poland and in addition that they had gained a great deal from each other. Participants who were veterans of previous Study Visits agreed that this was the best one they had experienced.

 This Study Visit has laid the foundations for further cooperation and international projects in the areas of EfS and organic farming. The practice demonstrated at Ziarno of integrating theoretical learning and hands-on practical learning approaches can add to learning capacity in a unique way that goes beyond education about organic farming. Further explorations of pedagogical approaches and curriculum content are needed to expand our understanding of this type of learning from a local and regional level to a European context. 

Ecological-Cultural Association Ziarno www.ziarno.eu
Léargas – www.leargas,ie
Cedefop - www.cedefop.europa.eu
Finbarr O’Regan and Carnaun National School 1996- 2007– www.athenry.org 
Organic Matters Magazine - http://www.organicmattersmag.com/

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