Workshop “Biodiversity in adaptation of agriculture to climate change”

27.10.2021.

 On Wednesday 27.10.2021. a workshop Biodiversity in the adaptation of agriculture to climate change was held as a part of the AGROBIODIVERSITY project – the basis for adaptation and mitigation of the consequences of climate change in agriculture organized by the Institute for Agriculture and Tourism in Poreč. This is the first of several workshops planned as part of the project with the aim of strengthening the general public’s awareness of climate change and adaptation to climate change. The goal of the Agrobiodiversity project is to conduct applied research in vulnerable sectors of agriculture and in vulnerable natural ecosystems with an emphasis on biodiversity conservation.

The workshop was attended by students of the 4th grade of agricultural technicians who are involved in the project “Europe is what it eats”, accompanied by their teacher Marina Čanić. Branka Salopek Sondi dr. sc. from the Ruđer Bošković Institute gave a presentation under the title: Mechanisms of tolerance of cabbage to abiotic stress factors, while Nina Išić, M.Sc.Agr., gave a presentation under the title: Drought resistance of cabbage. The last lecture was held by Dr. sc. Milan Oplanić from the Institute for Agriculture and Tourism on Attitudes of stakeholders in the agricultural sector on the impact and adaptation to climate change. After the workshop, a small discussion took place in which our students also participated, with interesting conclusions about the way climate change is perceived by agricultural producers. The workshop gathered a total of 26 live participants, while 14 participants were involved via the ZOOM platform.

La mula de Parenzo – fishery in Poreč

November 2022 – May 2023

Third and fourth grade students worked on creating video material on the topic of fishing in Poreč and fishing traditions in our town. As part of the research for the video, they went to Santa Marina bay, where they saw shellfish being farmed on Mr. Ginaluca Stojnić’s boat. In the video material they also included a presentation of different types of fish that are caught in the Adriatic, and as part of their research they visited the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Rovinj, which deals with sea monitoring. In the end, they included traditional fish dishes as well as side dishes that are eaten with them. They made this video under the guidance of their teacher Marina Čanić.

Workshop: Biodiversity – basis for more successful adaptation of agricultural crops to climate change

24.2.2022.

The workshop was intended for the public and scientists with the aim of strengthening awareness of climate change and adaptation to climate change. The workshop was organized as an online event via ZOOM and was attended by teachers from Mate Balote High School involved in our project.

The workshop was designed in the form of 3 presentations. The first presentation was held by prof. Ph.D. Nenad Jasprica from the Institute for the Sea and the Coast, University of Dubrovnik, where he presented the results of the collection of wild taxa and field research of habitats, and the presentation was entitled: Diversity and ecology of wild Brassica and Allium taxa on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. Then prof. Ph.D. Mirta Tkalec from the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University of Zagreb, presented the results from activity 3 – Mechanisms of tolerance of traditional species and wild taxa as a function of resistance and adaptation to climate change, under the title: Mechanisms of adaptation of rasts to increased temperature and drought. Finally, colleagues from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, prof. Ph.D. Kereša and prof. Ph.D. Lazarević presented part of the results achieved by the implementation of activity 4 – Development of genetic variability for drought tolerance of Allium species in vitro, under the title: In vitro selection and regeneration of garlic and multispectral analysis of regenerants under drought stress conditions. Attending this workshop was an opportunity for professors of agricultural subjects involved in our project to expand their knowledge about the adaptation of agricultural crops to climate change.

We started the project with the smell of cukerančići

10.3. 2022.

Students of the first grade of Agrotechnicians on Thursday 1oth of March have started activities on the “Europe is what it eats” project mentored by their teacher Mirela Marković. The theme of the project is local food and its production, and Istria will present itself with its local dishes and agricultural products such as Istrian soup, olive oil, prosciutto and, among other things, cukerančići. On this occasion, the students of the first grade were on Thursday at Agroturism Ograde, with Mrs. Davorka Šaina, to record the material that they later edited into a short video for their colleagues from other schools. 7 years ago, our hostess started the initiative to have this dessert on the list of protected intangible cultural heritage of our country, which the Ministry of Culture confirmed and since 2018 has included “The art of preparing the traditional dessert pazinski cukerančić” on the national list of 160 intangible cultural assets. Mrs. Davorka with a lot of patience and love taught our students how to make these cookies, and she also offered us a delicious brunch of dried meat products from her farm and homemade bread. While making it, she revealed to us the little secrets of making an excellent cukerančić, during which our students had a lot of fun and acquired a new skill. We left the agrotourism with heavy hearts and even heavier stomachs, satisfied and with a lot of material for our project.

Lecture: Traditional cultivars as a source of genetic variability for adaptation to climate change

13.4.2022.

Associates on the Agrobiodiversity project Nina Išić and Ana Čehić presented the project and part of the results of activities A2: Traditional cultivars as a source of genetic variability for adaptation to climate change and A5: Socio-economic aspects of adaptation and strengthening the resilience of the agricultural sector to climate change, to the students of Mate Secondary School Ballot Poreč.

Students learned about the importance of traditional cultivars in preserving genetic variability as a source of genes for resistance to various external stressors that occur because of climate change. In this way, it is possible not only to increase agricultural biodiversity, but it becomes a useful tool in achieving satisfactory yields in the conditions of increasingly obvious climate changes.

From land and from the sea, shellfish farming is fun   

27.6.2022.

The fourth Erasmus project in our  school, So is(st) Europe or Europe is what it eats, challenged the students of the 3rd grade of agrotechnics and the teacher Marina Čanić, to explore the greatest wealth of fruits in Poreština, which is our sea. Sea food farming has long been known in Poreč. A large ancient fish farm, dating back to Roman times, one of the largest in the Mediterranean area, was discovered in Porto Bussola Bay in 2012. Today, Porto Bussola is one of the rare natural oases that provides peace and rest for both foreign and domestic tourists. It was also the starting point of the third class of agricultural technicians as part of the Fisheries subject for research in the project. They visited and explored that small peninsula, Porto Bussola more through recreation and playing on the shore, but also through a historical story of this oldest vivarium. On the sea, from the shore, you can see the buoys used to fish shellfish. We moved on to Santa Marina Bay, where today a couple of families cultivate fish and shellfish. We were received by Gianluca Stojnić, a young entrepreneur who grows shellfish. He inherited the business from his father, with whom he used to go to sea as a child. He introduced us to his vessel and equipment, which is specially equipped for growing shellfish, and then he took us to the sea, to his shellfish farm. He explained to us that the farm is divided according to the stages of shellfish growth. He first took us to an area where mostly juvenile, young clams are found, and then he took us to an area where edible size clams are found. Gianluca and his two workers Patrik and Mateo who showed us how clams are planted, grown, harvested, cleaned, and packed for the market. We saw these young people as very ambitious and capable. They received us very kindly with a great desire to pass on their knowledge and the meaning of this type of work in these areas, both in the past and today, and hopefully in the future.

Workshop: Vegetables – a source of biodiversity in our gardens

7.9.2022.

The workshop entitled “Vegetables – source of biodiversity in our gardens” was organized as part of the project “AGROBIODIVERSITY – the basis for adapting and mitigating the consequences of climate change in agriculture” organized by the Institute for Agriculture and Tourism. The workshop was organized as a professional-educational day with the presentation of plant genetic sources of vegetables kept at the Institute. It was held on the property of the Institute for Agriculture and Tourism, at this workshop our students get acquainted with many different varieties of vegetables, and they were especially interested in the local Istrian varieties of onions, tomatoes and different cabbages. In the laboratories of the Institute, they could see all the ways in which scientists determine the levels of harmful substances in plants, and they were introduced to the plant gene bank maintained at the Institute.

Bon Appetit with Maneštra

December 2022.

December 2022.As part of our project, students Tea Cociancich and Sara Smilović and prof. Orieta Milovan, in December 2022. visited the village of Pekici near Svetvinčent, the city of the Istrian knights, and learned everything about the Istrian maneštra. At the family farm, more precisely “Izletište Pekici”, they were very kindly received by the owner Aleksandra Pekica, who showed them how to prepare this traditional Istrian dish. On that occasion, the students recorded a short video in which they reveal to us all the secrets of a good maneštrš. During cooking, Mrs. Aleksandra explained the necessary ingredients and all the steps in making this indispensable dish in every real Istrian home. In a pleasant atmosphere, the four hours it took to prepare the meal passed quickly, which was followed by a tasting of maneštra, the taste of which, they say, will be remembered for a long time. And along with cooking, there was laughter and fun with animals, which are not lacking at the picnic area: sheep, chickens, geese, ducks, mules, mares, dogs, and cats. On leaving, the hard-working landlady gave them lavender essential oil and a bag with dry lavender, all products that make this farm recognizable.

Video material on mobility to Italy

October – November 2022.

At the beginning of October, students of the third and fourth grade of agrotechnical major visited South Tyrol in Italy, as part of the Erasmus+ project “Europe is what it eats”. They recorded a video about everything they experienced and learned.

St. Mauro – Eco day at Mate Balote highschool

22.11. 2022.

This year, on November 21st, we celebrated the feast of St. Mauro, patron of the city of Poreč and the Diocese of Poreč. On a somewhat different Monday, we combined our knowledge, imagination, creativity, and leisure, united in the unique theme of caring for the environment, which starts with each individual and spreads further into the world. We took part in this year’s pub quiz, played chess in a real tournament, looked for treasure around the school solving mathematical puzzles, played football with the team in the Veli Jože hall, listened to our former and current students exchange experiences and feasted on fine local products. One of the activities was work on posters that will mark our mobility in Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy as part of the “Europe is what it eats” project. We are looking forward to future project days because they regularly inspire us in further work and general cooperation, both of students and school staff.

Istrian soup

16.1. 2023.

Students of the 3rd grade agricultural technician Aleks, Rocco and Gregor showed in the video how to make traditional Istrian soup. The students learned about the method of preparation, the recipe, and how the soup was made from Dr. sc. Kristijan Damijanić, president of the Agrorovinj Association and they werw accompanied by their teacher Margita Žiković.  Istrian soup is part of the Istrian tradition. It includes foods that are traditionally used in Istria: wine, oil, bread, and is served at the end of the meal, or it can be an independent meal. It symbolizes fertility, well-being and welcome, and the connection of those who enjoy it together.

Photo workshop “Colors of Istria”

November 2022. – February 2023.

At the Mate Balota High School in Poreč, at the end of 2022, a successful creative collaboration with the Croatian Photo Association began. In the month of November, the first photography workshop was held for high school students, who in the two-day program mastered all the technical preparations for shooting with a digital camera, taking striking shots in the yard of our school and analyzing their own work. The cooperation continued with the holding of a workshop for a new group of high school students, where the students tried their hand at the hemogram technique – making a photo without a camera on black and white photo paper. The selected works of the students were also shown at the exhibition set up in the premises of the Mate Balote High School, right at the entrance and the main stairs of the school, during the celebration of the 140th anniversary. The opening of the exhibition, entitled “Colors of Istria”, was held on February 7, 2023, with an appropriate speech by director Krešimir Bronić and a concert by our accordionists.

Through participation in these workshops, several students involved in our project acquired new skills in photography, which they could apply during mobilities in Germany and Istria.

Video about mobility in Germany

May 2023.

In March, the students at our school with their teachers Margita Žiković and Mirela Marković were on mobility in East Frisia in Germany. They recorded their experiences and edited them into one short video that shows all the activities during the mobility.

Video about mobility in Istria

May 2023.

At the beginning of May, our colleagues from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Italy were on mobility in Istria. We tried to introduce them to all the beauties of our region and agricultural production. We recorded all our experiences and put together a short video that shows everything that happened during the mobility week in Istria.