On December 12 and 13, 36 sixth grade students and 6 accompanying teachers participated in very interesting activities implemented by the Center for Education for the Environment and Sustainability of Ierapetra and the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics (Hellenic Mediterranean University) in Sitia.
Program:
On Thursday, December 12, we stopped in Neapolis and took a tour of its beautiful central park. We visited the Folklore Museum of Neapolis, where we were given a tour by the president of the museum, Ms Maria Kostaki and Ms Maria Plevridou. The students learned about the history of the city and the region, while they also saw the folklore collection with the mansion, the farmhouse, the old professions, the old school, etc.
In the afternoon of the same day, we were welcomed by the head, Stratos Mylonakis, and the pedagogical team of the Center for Environmental Education in Ierapetra. After giving us information about the Ierapetra area, Mrs. Elisavet Drouga and Sofia Tsantiraki gave us a presentation and an experiential workshop on healthy eating and the energy footprint of our foods. After dinner and a stroll in the Christmas decorated city, we spent the night at our hotel.
On Friday, December 13 morning, we were welcomed by the head of the Center for Environmental Education of Ierapetra, Mr. Haris Voumvoulakis, in the Koutsouras wood, which had burned down many years ago. In a very interesting walk in nature, he informed us about the biodiversity of the area and showed us the plants. However, he also caused us to reflect on the consequences of human intervention in nature with inappropriate methods, showing us examples of inappropriate interventions in the reforested grove.
Then Mr Voumvoulakis accompanied us to the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Hellenic Mediterranean University in Sitia. Students, under the supervision of professors Theodora Mouratidou and Irini Sfakianaki, initially gave the children a tour of the university. They then informed the children with presentations, interactive games, and experiential workshops about proper nutrition and the healthy habits that we should all have. After stopping in beautiful Sitia for food and a walk, we returned with our new memories to Heraklion.
The actions ended on Monday, December 16th with the online action of the Center for Environmental Education of Ierapetra within the framework of the National Thematic Network "Nutrition, Environment & Health" on the theme "Recipes with a Christmas aroma and few foodmiles...".
