They chose the weekend with the ECO Week of the Silesian University of Technology
Saturday with the ECO Week as part of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 is behind us. There was a chance to taste honey, search for the queen of bees, learn during interesting workshops and take an ecological walk.
The day started with EcoWalk: “Meetings with nature – Wyrchczadeczka” organized by the Vistula Forest District. A dozen or so participants had the opportunity to visit, among others, Wood Grouse Wolier Kennel or the highest located apiary in the Beskidy Mountains.
Traditionally, interesting workshops were taking place at Kato Science Corner in Katowice. This time they were led by students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice: Marta Tokarz, Kinga Przeliorz, Maja Owczarz and Violetta Kocik.
- We came up with the idea of organizing workshops for two age groups – explains Marta Tokarz. “We used things that might seem unnecessary, and here they got a second life. These include newspapers, notebooks, or leaflets. First, the younger group made collages. Older participants had the opportunity to make eco-notebooks. This is something that will be useful to them, and they did it with items that we often find in our homes.
At the same time, in Kato.werk – Silesian social workshop in Katowice, the Water Duck Association held a workshop called “Valuable plastic”.
- We specialize in upcycling and recycling of plastics, education on this subject and the harmful effects of plastic - says Magdalena Janosz, who led the meeting together with her husband Wojciech. - Not only during these workshops, but also every day, you can see in our studio what recycling plastic literally is. We rely on smaller versions of recycling devices in the educational version, instead of the industrial version.
The participants could learn what plastic is, what its types and properties are and how the recycling process takes place step by step.
“In addition, we showed the process of melting plastic and the participants were able to create their items from waste. We played with colours, obtaining an unusual design – explains the organizer.
The day ended in Gliwice in the inner courtyard of the Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation of the Silesian University of Technology, where Dr Eng. Jacek Nowak, a scientist at this faculty, prepared the stand and gave lectures “Ecomission – between blocks of flats and flowers. Learn the secrets of bees in the big city.”
This event attracted both children and adults, who could see the beehive up close, and look for the queen bee in it. They also took part in the honey tasting and, above all, got a lot of information about bees and their work.
"This is a miniature of a real hive, in which we can observe the developmental cycle of these interesting insects, both in terms of biology and their behaviour" - explains Dr Eng. Jacek Nowak, who is passionate about beekeeping. - In addition to tasting, I also talked about other bee products. Without their hard work and pollination, food production would be much more difficult. That is why we have to take care of them.
