„Kożuchów, my little homeland"

 

Implementer: Kożuchów Pre-School No. 1

 

Problem: Kożuchów is one of the oldest towns in the Central Odra River Valley. Despite its historical and cultural significance, it had been clear from conversations the pre-school had had with parents and children that fewer and fewer community members were taking an interest in the cultural heritage of their ancestors. A commonly voiced observation was that while we travel great distances to see the historical and cultural monuments of Europe and the rest of the world, the myriad interesting places that can be found in Poland and in our local area go undiscovered. The pre-school went to work to do something about this situation.

 

Objective: The main goals of the project are to get children and their parents interested and excited about the historical and cultural legacy of their  region, as well as to set up a permanent regional exhibit at the school which will showcase the history and culture of the region.

 

Project implementation and results: Project work involved:

1. Preparing and distributing informational material promoting the „Schools for Sustainable Development in Lower Silesia. Let's take care of our common spaces" grant programme and the „Kożuchów - my little homeland" project;

2. Writing and implementing an original regional educational curriculum;

3. Organising 5 gmina-wide and 2 pre-school competitions focusing on the cultural heritage of the region;

4. Tours and trips to the Kożuchów Castle, Krosno Tower, Executioner's Gateway, Lapidarium, along the moat and fortifications;

5. Organising 3 school trips to Dworek in the town of Szyb to learn more about old musical instruments, to see the churches and parks in Kożuchów Gmina, to the Ethnography Museum in Ochla to learn about endangered occupations;

6. Organising 10 meetings with interesting guests (open for children and parents);

7. A meeting, „Music of our ancestors" organised by the Lubuskie Concert Bureau;

8. A permanent exhibition at the school holding objects and keepsakes represnting homeland history.

9. Organising 5 ‘regional corners' in classrooms belonging to specific groups.

10. Family festival „I love my town" - summing up of the project, acknowledgements and thanks to the project participants and sponsors.

 

Project partners:

Educational institutions: Kożuchów Pre-School No. 3, Elementary Schools Nos. 1 & 2, Elementary Schools in Mirocin Górny, Stypułów and Broniszów;

Non-educational institutions: Parents Council @ Kożuchów Pre-School No. 1, Kożuchów Municipality, Kożuchów Recreation & Cultural Centre ("Zamek"), Knight Brotherhood of Kożuchów Town, Friends of Kożuchów Land Society, „Civilitas" Zielona Góra Educational Society; along with private persons interested in local history: Ms. Katarzyna Gaczyńska, Mr. Bogumił Kapuśniak, Mr. Wojciech Jachimowicz, Mr. Wiesław Bambrowicz.

 

Grant amount, other sources of funding: