-Nadia : we looked how to decrease our food waste and I created this workhop to sort out and recycle the cafeteria food waste … We went to see the cook, we were helped by an organization called “A fleur de pierre”, which helped us to sort out the food waste , and when we realized it worked out well and that we were producing compost, and since we had compost, we wanted to give it to teachers or use it to plant things… We planted tomatoes and zucchini with success, One parent helped us to design the garden which is behind the school, we planted strawberries, and there wasn’t anybody to look after the garden during the summer holidays…It was a wild place in September !

So we have continued for almost ten years to make compost and grow flowers. We have used the compost to make them grow. We also took part in various competitions, such as, two years ago, a “sustainable development” competition. We won the third prize of the Academy thanks to this compost.

-Jonas : Is this workshop enjoyed by students ?

-Nadia : Yes, a lot, and they try to do at home what they do here. It’s not always easy when you don’t have a composter ! I insist on the difference between “raw” and “cooked” food waste. “Raw” food waste can just be left aside to decay, whereas “cooked” food waste can smell, it must be stored in a closed space, away from predators, such as rats, and must have a specific chemical balance and wetness, in order to decompose as well as possible. You can add sawdust or ground vegetation to enable the nutriments to decompose as fast as possible. 

I suggest pupils to make compost out of raw material only, with peelings of vegetables for example.

-Jonas : How many kilos of fertilizer do you produce every year ?

-Nadia : Almost 200 kilos a year. Our problem is that bones are hard to decompose ! so we find chicken bones  in our compost ! Bones dry but do not decompose.

-Jonas : Do you keep the vegetables for you ?

-Nadia : We made a salad with the pupils with the carrots we had grown, and I must tell you they were quite delicious ! And strawberries did not last long because they were pinched by all the kids that went by !

-Jonas : What were your past and future objectives ?

-Nadia : Our objectives were to make people aware of the importance of sorting out things, you know are planet is in bad shape, and everyone of us can, at his or her scale, bring a brick to the wall… Each of us can show their friends or parents how to follow this example…. The second objective was to reduce our waste, to raise the children’s awareness about the bread they waste everyday, for example… We also asked the kids who took part in the workshop to warn the others about not wasting food…. We also had an action in order to recycle paper waste. We produce a huge amount of paper in a school…. On association recycles the paper we waste, to make recycled paper. There are containers to collect paper or glass, as you know. The more we recycle paper, the less we will cut trees ! 

-Jonas : Are you proud of what you managed to do ?

-Nadia : Yes I’m proud,  because most of the kids who participated have composts at home, and change their habits. I am going to live on this earth with enough trees to shelter me or enough drinkable water to survive… You are going to have enough to live well too, but your children and grandchildren might not, if we don’t do something to change the situation… We talk about it a lot, but we need actions, not just talk. I’m worried about my great grandchildren might not have a good life on earth…. And the most important is nature on this earth, more important than all the money in the world. I’m happy I’ve created this initiative and intend to keep it going.

-Jonas : Do some organizations help you ?

-Nadia :  I work with an association involving handicapped people. The town also gives us ground plants or sawdust for free. The pupils come freely to the workshop, we have a limited number of 15 kids. Our project would be to expand this project to the whole school but it’s not easy since we need people to volunteer to work with us. 

-Jonas : Is the primary school involved too ?

-Nadia : The first year, we created a vegetable garden but the project was abandoned after a while; Paper is collected everywhere in the school, in the offices and in the classrooms. 

-Jonas : Do you have a message to convey ?

-Nadia : The message I would like to convey is the one I just talked about earlier, we really need to pay attention, and if we don’t act, if the young people do not act, we will be in trouble. Many people struggle to have access to drinkable water every day. Some children die because they can’t have access to drinkable water. We are all responsible to take this problem into account . 

I’m not really politically involved in the Green Party… I am not in a political party, but we need to say that the situation is serious. You have heard of the problems in Venice… You have an exhibition in the library about Sustainable Development..; What we used to have and don’t have any more. Or may not have ever again ! You know that animals go extinct every day… We talk about elephants but there are many more….

-Pupils : Thank you very much !

 

Cylia, pupil from 4ème 3, Sacré Coeur, Digne