On Monday we started the day with a world-cafe. The action-research-teams presented their research-approaches and results. Starting from early lunch time, we learned about the water footprint of our food and tried water-sensitive-cooking in two groups.
At the afternoon we stepped into the roles of different characters exploring privileges.
Topics of the day
Monday, September 25th, 2017
Today we had one of the most useful workshops. We had to implement our theoretical input regarding water footprints by cooking the lunch by ourselves and in the same time calculating the water footprints for every ingredient. The task was very challenging and complex and we had the chance to use the method learning by doing.
First we had to divide our group in three other small groups, each responsible for the entrée, main dish and dessert. In our small groups we tried to decide what to cook, based on water footprints of each ingredient. Also we had one volunteer who was taking notes on each calculation we were doing.
Besides the main goal, which was related to learning an eco-friendy approach in our everyday life, this task was very interesting because of the fact that we had to collaborate with each other. The group dynamic was very good and while cooking we had lot of funny moments as well. We managed to give space for everyone’s ideas and to come up with a delicious international eco-friendly meal.
Personally, I think that using this specific way of practicing what we learn, has helped us to store all this process in our long-term knowledges, which makes it easier for us to share this knowledge in our communities or in our daily work as youth workers.
So, thank you OBUK for the productive and nice time we had cooking all together!
Flussbad Berlin e.V. seeks to transform and reactivate the largely unused Spree Canal in Berlin-Mitte along with its adjacent urban areas. The project has a number of different and multilayered objectives; however, its main focus is on revitalising the existing natural and urban resources in the area, cleaning the river in this section and establishing direct public access to the canal. Along Museum Island, between the Humboldt Forum and the Bode Museum, a public space will be created that invites Berliners and visitors alike to swim in clean, uncontaminated water. The project foresees filtering the water in a completely natural way and also transforming the Spree Canal near the Fischerinsel into an ecological water landscape. (Text: Flussbad Berlin e.V.)
What can be useful for your own environmental youth work?
The experiment waterfiltration can be useful as it simulates one important step of the complex processs of waterfiltration happening in the nature. It also shows the pupils how rivers clean themenselves or can be cleaned and where the drinking water in Berlin comes from: at the water protection areas around Berlin the waterfiltration process takes place at the lake shores so that water goes through different sand and grivel layers to the groundwater which is finally used for drinking water.
Useful materials for your own :
Annual Review of Flussbad Berlin 1
Annual Review of Flussbad Berlin 2
Pictures about waterfiltration
Waterfiltration video
Instruction water experiment
Drinking water in Berlin
About Rivers
Toolbox of various actions about water/river/environment
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact info@flussbad-berlin.de.
September 24th, 2017
Today was the day for action research. Our groups were formed according to our interests, and my group chose to visit Ökowerk and UfaFabrik. Both visits were very instructive and pleasant. The group functioned perfectly, we managed transport dilemmas successfully, and used the time on the train for feedback and plans for presentation of our research, which was the next day.
In Ökowerk, we visited a small museum which hosts exhibitions for kids with interactive materials, so we gathered a lot of ideas for our work in the future. The area around the lake is also used as a garden with labels for all the plants in it, and an old-fashioned water pump, with interestingly assembeld wall, down which the water flows.
UfaFabrik is the “sustainable oasis of culture” where people work to make their grounds both environmentally friendly and sustainable, both in terms of continuous optiomization of the old buildings and service facilities and through the work they do in their offices and with their tenants and partners.
I would rate this day as very successful.
September 23rd, 2017
This has been an amazing day. We had a lot of team building activities which did the work-we not only remembered the names of all the participants of the course, but we also got to know one another, share ideas, and work together.
I can say that in a strange way, the activity in which we were blind-folded was an eye-opener. My first thought was that it was a short entance into the world of blind people, just a glimpse of their every-day struggle. It is a world in which you are not sure which way to go and not to bump into people and things, a world in which your focus moves from your sight to your hearing. We had to listen to one another in order to successfully make a square holding a rope in our hands. We developed a good strategy, we gave instructions, and even more importantly, we followed the instructions given by others, so that when we removed our blind-folds, we were amazed by the result.
This activity developed our sense of unity and of the importance of working together on a problem, because we are more powerful when we act as a team.