A food forest connecting a school with its community in Thessaloniki (Greece)

During the latest round of donations from the EU Staff Fund for a Fair and Sustainable Future, donated 20,000 euros to the Greek environmental organisation Mamagea for their project Green Sustainable Paths. 

Mamagea will help a Thessaloniki primary school and the surrounding neighbourhood co-create a community food forest, connecting the schoolyard with neighbourhood green spaces, while using hands-on education and permaculture approaches. 

Two thirds of Greece’s populations live in urban areas and the percentage of greenery per inhabitant in Thessaloniki (the second largest city in Greece) is one of the lowest in Europe at 2.74 square metres of greenery per citizen (the UN recommends 9 square metres per inhabitant). Over 70% of an average schoolyard in Greece is covered in concrete and provides little to stimulate the students and their continued learning.  

“Mamagea wants to make the schoolyard an engaging environment, supporting the students’ relationship with their surroundings and nature”.

The organisation envisages contributing towards a neighbourhood as a safe comfortable zone that feels like home to the school community and the residents. 

Throughout the project, the participants will work together in mixed-age groups, reusing local materials and strengthening the social cohesion of the school community and the surrounding urban community. 

The project will move through several phases, starting with community building and educating the teachers, the students and their parents and residents of the neighbourhood on climate change, sustainability, permaculture and other topics relevant to food systems and the creation of a community food forest.  

After a series of workshops, the creation of the food forest will start as the participants design the forest together. The teachers, students, parents and residents will then co-create the food forest with the guidance of experts and the local authorities. 

How to support the fund

You can set up a monthly donation or give once to the EU Staff Fund for a Fair and Sustainable Future here. If you would prefer to do this through your bank, you can find the bank details here. You can support the special fundraiser for the people of Ukraine here (the bank details for the fundraiser are at the end of this page).