April 17, 2013: Appointment of 28 SONDAR Soil Ambassadors

Within the framework of the international expert event of the SONDAR network and the Working Community of Danube Regions, the training module for soil ambassadors took place.
28 persons from 6 countries participated in this workshop. Among these were many educators from Lower Austria and Slovakia as well as stakeholders from Hungary, who will be responsible for a school project in Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, starting in April 2013, within the framework of the project "Economic Cycles in the Classroom".

It is the aim of this project to offer school girls and boys the possibility of sustainable production of their own, high-quality food through an interactive educational concept. Through practical planting and maintaining of, for instance, vegetables, and the production of their own earthworm compost, the pupils become acquainted with the natural cycle and the resource of soil as supplier of more than 90 % of our food.
Through sustainable production of raised flower beds and worm compost boxes (from Lower Austrian social enterprises), which will be made available for schools for free, also the social aspect is addressed in this project.

Alfred Grand, organic farmer from Absdorf and manager of the company "Vermigrand Organic Products GmbH", explained the correct application and use of raised flower beds and worm compost boxes in this workshop, and he gave a good survey of the relevance of composting.

As a conclusion of this event, the participants were allowed to give free rein to their creativity together with Prof. Racek, the artistic director of the project "Painting with the Colours of the Earth". In common, pieces of art were created using natural materials.

Dr. Otto Kaurzim, Director of the Lower Austrian Agricultural District Authorities and Mayor Michael Singraber, Chairman of BIENE Association awarded the certificates for soil ambassadors in the course of the international expert meeting.

Pictures: © NÖ Agrarbezirksbehörde/Nadja Meister