Taking care of nature and experiencing the values of care and collaboration by bringing different generations closer is at the heart of this Service Learning project carried out by class 2A of the "Busti" primary school in Verona.
The students often talk about their grandparents who live far away in another country. The characteristics of the neighborhood where the project was carried out highlighted the strong need to strengthen and revive relationships between different generations to bring closer geographically distant but emotionally close relationships.
The idea developed was to share the experience of the garden tended by the retirees of the neighborhood as a meeting experience useful for uniting two often distant generations. Every boy and girl fully participated in the care and organization of the garden, promoting participation through small daily actions of cooperation, coexistence, and responsibility.
The learning took place within a true exploratory journey of the neighborhood gardens, the fruit and vegetable market, and the school space cultivated by the young students. After meeting the municipal gardener, the boys and girls worked the soil and prepared it to face the cold winter by covering it with leaves. In the colder months, they planted and took care of tulip bulbs, while at the market they deepened their knowledge of fruits and vegetables which they then sowed in their dedicated space. The families helped the boys and girls translate the various names of the products into different languages, thus creating a rich and inclusive environment.
With the arrival of spring, it was time for planting and meeting with the grandparents who tend the neighborhood garden to exchange knowledge and advice. Thanks to the constant care of their garden, the students were able to harvest the fruits and share them with their families. Finally, the boys and girls shared their experience with the district representatives in a letter in which they expressed their satisfaction with the work done and the importance of intergenerational encounters.
"The common goal that the children and the grandparents set for themselves, linked to the care of the land and the neighborhood, has strengthened the intergenerational bond to the benefit of the community," comments teacher Patrizia Rama. "Thanks to the project, they have improved their listening and expressive skills; they have grown in their relationship with others, in mutual respect, and in recognizing rules. They have always participated with great enthusiasm!"
