The educational project "Sustainable Development and Food Education" continues. For the 2021-2022 school year, Coldiretti Cremona's proposal has already been adopted by 85 classes, involving over 1600 students this year.

Students in the field, busy planting peas, ready to care for the crops in the coming months, using the most modern tools, in the spirit of sustainability and innovation, right up to harvest time. This is happening in Ostiano, where students from the Third B class of the Secondary School have launched a project resulting from the collaboration between the School, Coldiretti, and Casalasco Società Agricola S.p.A., with the fundamental contribution of the Municipality of Ostiano, which has entrusted the school with a two-pertica plot of land.

For Coldiretti Cremona, this is another important initiative linked to the educational project "Sustainable Development and Food Education," offered to schools in the Province of Cremona, in collaboration with the Territorial School Office of Cremona, with Coldiretti Donne Impresa and Giovani Impresa at the forefront.

"Finally, we are in the field. Yesterday we plowed the land, today the children are planting pea seeds. We're starting with hand-sowing, then we'll continue with the use of a tractor and the help of a farmer," explains Simona Pilotti, mathematics and science teacher, head of the Ostiano secondary school complex.

"The project aims to bring children closer to the land. Through experience, they can understand the value of their territory," the teacher continues. "They learn to cultivate the land and, at the same time, use and enrich the skills they've gained from school. For example, in mathematics, we measured the field, then converted everything into Cremonese pertiche. Next week, we will install the probes provided by Casalasco Società Agricola S.p.A. to measure soil moisture. The children will monitor from their computers, creating graphs to understand if the land needs watering or not. This is also a way to promote water saving, especially at this particular time when there is a water shortage in our area."

Divided into small groups, wearing their standard yellow hats, armed with spades, various trowels, and seed packets, the children are hard at work. Alongside them is Mattia Damiani, an agronomic technician from Casalasco Società Agricola S.p.A.

"As Casalasco Società Agricola S.p.A., we strongly support projects from local schools that promote sustainable agriculture," explains Damiani. "The students will have access to the most modern and sustainable tools. For example, the use of drones, which save fuel, and the release of beneficial insects for agriculture, a choice that reduces the need for conventional products. And the control units that detect soil moisture, for water saving. These are tools that our farms regularly use."

The journey and work will continue in the coming months. The students will care for the crops, which will be harvested at the end of May, beginning of June.

"Our project was born within the annual hours of Civic Education, focusing on specific sustainability themes, and from the synergy between Coldiretti and the Ministry of Education," emphasizes Paola Bono, director of Coldiretti Cremona. "We are particularly proud of this initiative; it's a valuable opportunity to show students, in a tangible way, how much commitment and expertise go into the daily work of a farmer, striving to provide good and healthy food to the community."