Agriculture
AEP
Introduction
By definition,
agritourism is a form of tourism that is developed on the principle of
sustainable development and in the best way valorizes rural areas, agricultural
activities, and natural and cultural historic resources including autochonous
traditional products.
Agritourism is one of the most developed forms
of selective tourism in the world.
At the same time, however, we face certain constraints:
-
insufficient
awareness and knowledge about autochtonous sorts of plants, animals and
products
-
insufficiently
developed skills and know-how due to a lack of equipment and new technology
In light of the above-mentioned facts, the need to develop agritourism
A lack of practical skills among our students
stimulated us to build an agrotouristic polygon in our school area and
dislocated area, “Grad Mladih.”
About AEP
The AEP project is
supporting the development and improvement
of Croatian agritourism through education, oriented towards the use of
Croatian agricultural capacity
Goals
The objectives of the AEP project–the Agritouristic Educational
Polygon-are specified in two groups, general and specific. General
objectives:
1. To contribute to the development of
agritourism
The improvement of know-how, skills and methods in
agritourism for:
a. teachers of VET schools in Croatia and our
school who teach agriculture, food technology,
catering and tourism
b. students who study agriculture, food
technology, catering and tourism for a new occupation,
“Agritouristic Technician”
c. adults for better integration into the labour
market
2. To use
created Agritouristic Education Polygon- AEP, Croatian model to
Enrich the existing school garden (2 acres)
with a new education area (autochtonous sorts
of
vegetables, flowers, herbs, crops, fruit and small domestic animals
(turkey – Zagorski
puran,
Croatian hen, rabbit)
a. implement an
agritouristic household in part of the school garden
b. dislocate part of
the polygon to the woods of “Grad Mladih” (bees and herbs )
3. Exchange best practices with the business
community in Croatia and abroad
4. New partnerships in Croatia and abroad
5. New networks in Croatia and abroad
Specific objectives:
Ř Educate
teachers from our school
o
In
agritourism (workshops, seminars) at the Faculty of Agronomy, Zagreb
o
In new
technologies – drying plants
o
In foreign
languages (English) – in-house training
o
Abroad –
study visits (Slovenia, Italy, Austria)
Ř Create
on AEP as ambient architecture
o
Horticultural
areas (lawn, kitchen garden with spice herbs, healing herbs, small berry fruit,
orchard, flower garden, hedge, demonstration area of old agricultural
varieties)
o
Perform
education – exhibition of domestic animals and other garden–technical elements
(pergola, gazebo, benches, paved paths, water well, fences)
o
Grow
annual and periennial plants in an ecologically acceptable way
o
Grow and
exchange (by students, teachers, citizens, associations, cooperatives) plants of autochtonous Croatian sorts and
preserve biological diversity
o
Dry fruit,
vegetables, herbs and spice herbs, flowers and corn (in order to improve honey products, for
flower bouquets, new recipes)
o
Temporarily
introduce traditional small domestic animals
(for events, exhibitions)
o
Produce
sweets and cookies (at Prehrambeno-Tehnološka Škola) and honey products (at the
AEP and “Grad Mladih“)
o
Souvenir
production
Ř Present
and sell our own products
(cream honey, honey candles, tea, dried fruit, apple vinegar, flower bouquets –
“pušlek”; fruit, flower, herbs and slip
Ř Organize events (Seasons in the AEP)
Ř Provide
services (training how to create and organize husbandry)
Ř Present
and promote (to other schools,
faculties, high schools, associations, cooperatives, citizens, SMEs) our
students' work linked to ethno and traditional contents (AEP, gingerbread, honey biscuits, handiworks)
in collaboration with partners
Ř Support
gifted students to use new
know-how, skills and new initiatives (self-consciousness, creativity) in their rural economy and to participate in
scientific research with university scientists
Ř Foster
cooperation with farms and SMEs
Ř Create food products based on particular husbandry
Ř Develop a culture and habits of behaviour in
preserving the environment and the heritage of autochonous plants
Ř Broaden
the contacts of our and
foreign students
Ř Organize
competition and quiz show
events
Ř Introduce
ICT in agriculture (new
didactic equipment)
Ř Implement
models of evaluation of our
school (internal and external) in order to prepare future plans of action
Ř Build
initiatives to improve the
curriculum
The AEP:
-
Gives
practical skills to students of Poljoprivredna škola (all professions:
agritouristic technician, agricultural technician - general, agricultural
technician - gardener, agricultural technician – phytopharmacist, gardener,
fruiterer, vinegrower, vintner and
flower-grower)
-
Promotes
mutual training and ideas of mutual education in collaboration with other
students from other vocational schools in the agriculture, catering and tourism
sectors in Croatia
o
Visits and
joint activities with owners of agritouristic husbandries in order to exchange
best practices
-
Develops
and delivers vocational training programmes in the area of agritourism for
adults
-
Creates
and delivers training schemes for persons who own farms and would like to
create their own business in agritourism and create self-employment
Priorities
of the AEP programme are:
-
broader
international collaboration with vocational schools abroad (Austria, Italy, Slovenia)
in order to transfer best practices, particulary of vocational training
programmes in agritourism. This could improve our initiatives in Croatia to
improve the curriculum.
-
the education of teachers in foreign language (English) and informatics
in order to improve international communication and the library.
Direct beneficiaries:
Teachers (200)
who educate students in the fields of agronomy,
nutritional technology, catering and tourism, but the emphasis will be on
training teachers in agritourism, which will open new opportunities for more
employment.
Students
– regular (1000)
students in the fields of agronomy, nutritional
technology, catering and tourism need new know-how and skills to have greater
competence, particularly in a new profession, agritouristic technician.
Pupils – primary schools (1000)
This target group is
interesting because more of them could choose our school for vocational
education and for the profession of agritouristic technician, which could
benefit an increased percentage of agritouristic husbandries in Croatia.
Students – adults (100)
Included in life-long
learning.
Owners - SMEs (174)
Within Croatia, they
should have an interest in new know-how and technology in order to improve the
quality of their tourist service offers (catering - domestic food, drinks and
events).
Also, to educate them
in the importance of collaborating with cooperatives which could link them to
more visitors and increase their value by working together.
Interested citizens (2000)
In the community, who
could get training or know-how/skills in how to work in their gardens, but also
to get information about agrtouristic husbandries in Croatia and their
touristic offers.
Indirect beneficiaries of the AEP programme :
Associations involved
in agritourism (3)
Students’ cooperatives
involved in agritourism (243)
Chambers involved in
agritourism (20)
Activites conducted:
The
creation of an AEP consisted of horticultural shaping and the creation of an
AEP in an area of our school garden and at the dislocated area of Grad Mladih,
which is at the same time cultural heritage.
This AEP was created
in an area of 1600 m2.
At our AEP, competencies that reflect the needs of the modern labour
market will be available to all students – a regular four-year professional
education in line with our curriculum.
a. Agritouristic technician will use the polygon for the education and
simulation of a business in agricultural husbandry in the fields of
agriculture, catering and tourism.
b. Agricultural technician – general will acquire skills in plants and
breeding domestic animals in an ecologically-acceptable manner.
c. Agricultural technician – gardener
will acquire skills in plants and horticultural shaping of the
husbandry.
d. Agricultural technician – phytopharmacist will acquire skills and
competencies necessary for the protection of plants in line with ecological principles.
e. Gardener will acquire, during a three-year education, practical
skills in growing plants for a vegetable garden, flower garden, dendrologic
nursery – garden, crop-farming, etc.
f. Fruit-grower – Winegrower -
Winemaker will grow fruit and vines
g. Flower-grower will learn how to grow flowers and use them for floral
bouquets, especially of autochtonous flower sorts from the AEP
Long
– term Expected results :
Ř Competent and trained teachers in the field of
agritourism (workshops) in collaboration with
the Faculty of Agronomy, Zagreb
Ř Competent teachers to use new technologies
(equipped practicums)
Ř Educated students of Poljoprivredna škola, Zagreb
and other vocational schools in Croatia in the fields of agriculture, food
technology, catering and tourism
Ř Improved contents in school garden
Ř New objects in school garden (2 for education,
2 for exhibition), small houses for domestic animals and other garden –
technical elements
Ř Horticulturally shaped agritouristic polygon
(ambient architecture)
Ř Annual and perennial plants (autochtonous
sorts) planted
Ř Dried vegetables, fruit, medical and spice
herbs, corn for further processing, flowers for decorations
Ř Domestic animals (autochtonous)
Ř Beehives in the AEP and dislocated polygon at
Grad Mladih
Ř Food products as souvenirs for better touristic
offers in Zagreb and its surroundings
Ř Students involved in research and paper
presentation or billboards, posters with autochtonous products and cultural
heritage
Ř Events organized to show Croatian traditional
and autochtonous cuisine in partnership with other schools (
Prehrambeno-tehnološka škola) and Grad Mladih
Ř Interiors arranged (e.g. tables, benches,
cutlery) and services to agritouristic husbandries in Croatia (catering,
tourism)
About Agriculture School Zagreb
Established in Zagreb, July 12, 1991
April 22, 2002, status of International Eko-school
(programme of waste treatment)
-
The biggest agricultural school in Croatia
and
-
The only
independent agricultural school in Croatia
-
60 years of
success
-
The oldest in Croatia for the education
of adults for 4 agricultural professions
-
Technical exams in vocational subjects
from agricultural schools in the Republic of Croatia
-
Headquarters Association of Employees in
agricultural schools in the Republic of Croatia
-
Headquarters of Inter-County Council for
professions in agriculture for 10 counties
Educational field – from fields of the agricultural profession: garden
(horticultural) technician, phytopharmacist technician, general (agronomical)
technician, agrotouristic technician,
florist, gardener, fruit grower-vine grower-winemaker
1. for regular students - four-year professions:
agricultural technician-phytopharmacist, agricultural technician-gardener,
agricultural technician-general and the NEW inter-vocational professional AGROTOURISTIC TECHNICIAN (agronomy,
tourism, catering)
2. for regular students - three-year professions: florist,
gardener, fruit
grower-vine grower-winemaker
3. for adults – four-year professions: agricultural technician – general, agricultural
technician - gardener, agricultural technician -phytopharmacist
4. for adults - three-year professions: florist, gardener, fruit
grower-vine grower-winemaker
5. competency: bee-keeper
Extracurricular activities , we support self-confidence and the acceptance of human diversity:
sports club, drama-recitation group, journalist section, photo section, ethno
group, mountaineering section, blood donors, bee-keeping section, floral
arranging section, cjepljarska section, group of gifted students
Activities : events,
competitions, exhibitions, workshops for citizens, radio i TV programs, Pušlek student cooperative, Izidor school
newspaper
Recipients of national and international awards.