In a morning full of activities, 70 children from preschool (aged 4-6) had the opportunity to learn a little more about the different foods that come from nature. Firstly, they explored the world of seeds and how they give life to the plants around us, through another edition of the “Seed Bombs Workshop”. With that knowledge in mind, the participants were challenged to plant a small bean in the “Atelier de Germinação” (Germination Workshop) and analyze how it will gradually “transform” into a new plant. These activities served as a motto for the planting of the “Horta dos Guardiões da Natureza” (Nature Guardians’ Vegetable Garden) in a dedicated space on the premises of IPSS Florinhas do Vouga which, from now on, has a range of agricultural products such as strawberries, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, cabbages and carrots.

The planning of a vegetable garden in the city of Aveiro is one of the activities of the project “Guardiões da Natureza” (Nature’s Guardians) for 2024. Its purpose is to promote urban agriculture, raise awareness among the Aveiro community to the importance of healthy eating practices and create an intergenerational platform for the development of environmental education activities. To this end, 8 elderly people from the Florinhas do Vouga Day Centre took part in this action, and throughout the morning they had the opportunity to share the vegetable garden’s activities with the preschool children. 

At the same time, Agora Aveiro took the second edition of the project “Jogos sem Idade” (Games without Age) to Florinhas do Vouga, which aims to give older people a day out of the ordinary, where they can remember the songs and games of their childhood and youth. This activity, which had the help of young people from Clã Académico de Aveiro (CAAv), served as a starting point for sharing stories and conversations between the elderly, the children and the volunteers from Agora Aveiro, thus creating a very special moment of sharing and tenderness.

In this way, by listening to our elders and teaching the younger ones, we strengthen our community, reinforcing the commitment to environmental education and community well-being.

The “Guardiões da Natureza” will return next Wednesday, 27th of March, at 4:00 PM, for an online conversation co-organized by Associação ACTUAR on the theme “Young people, capacities and experiences of Aveiro’s civil society”, which will discuss the role of youth associations and environmental education in the context of “collective action for the human right to adequate food”. Registration is open and available via this form.

The “Guardiões da Natureza” and the “Jogos sem Idade” are part of the projects “Plantar o Futuro” and “Random Acts of Kindness” by Agora Aveiro. It has the support of Câmara Municipal de Aveiro and IPDJ - Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude, I.P..