First day in Poland
Monday, May 16, 2016
We arrived in Poland on Sunday and we started our journey on Monday. On Monday we started the activities. Polish Students presented Kashubian region and their culture and also our visiting plan. Then We played a game. Polish teachers gave us questions which we asked each other to get to know each other. After lunch we had a presentation about our findings so far connected with biology. Later we went to Chmielno. It is a small village where a lot of ceramics producers are. We painted on ceramics, using the traditional technic. We came home and had a party with all the students.
Elisa Marinotti, Italy
Urte Jarusaityte, Lithuania
Lola Hakel, France
Magdalena Cichosz, Poland
See what we have found out so far as a result of out scientific work - 
Flavours of Poland – cooking workshops
What we prepared
"WILD FLAVOURS":
- RASPBERRY AND CRANBERRY SAUCE
- SALAD WITH DANDELION
- SORREL SOUP
- BAKED TROUT WITH WILD GARLIC
- FLOWERS OF ELDER IN A DOUGH
- LENTIL PATTE
TRADITIONAL DISHES:
- dumplings with potato and cottage cheese
- DUMPLINGS WITH SAUERKRAUT AND MUSHROOMS
- Fruit soup with dumplings
- Potato pancakes and KUBUS juice
- Parsley juice.
- Sour soup
How our work process looked like
First we researched the properties of wild plants on the Internet. We were devided into groups, created posters and presented our plant to the rest of the audience.
In all of these dishes there are some different wild plants: in raspberry sauce there are raspberries, in salad with dandelion we used dandelion, in the sorrel soup we have parsley and in the fish the wild garlic.
We had the opportunity to learn techniques of food preparation and discovered new spices that was very interesting and funny.
How our group cooperated
All the groups had a chef who taught us how to prepare these dishes and was sure that nothing was wrong. The groups were organized so all members had something to do, for example someone cut the carrot and someone else cooked the chicken.
What are the properties of some of the plants we used
Raspberry: Recent studies have measured the total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and anthocyanin content of raspberries harvested at varying stages of ripeness (from 50% to 100% maturity) and greatest overall antioxidant benefits were associated with full ripeness of the berries. Also raspberries are good to prevent the cancer.
Dandelion: Most scientific studies of dandelion have been in animals, not people. Traditionally, dandelion has been used as a diuretic, to increase the amount of urine and eliminate fluid in your body. It has been used for many conditions where a diuretic might help, such as liver problems and high blood pressure. However, there is no good research on using dandelion as a diuretic in people.
Fresh or dried dandelion herb is also used as a mild appetite stimulant, and to improve upset stomach.
Wild garlic: Given its antibacterial, antibiotic, antiseptic. The headline health benefit of garlic is its effectiveness in reducing blood pressure and, hence, heart disease and the risk of stroke. Although all garlic has this property, wild garlic has the greatest effect on lowering blood pressure.
Krystian Syldatk, Poland
Emilie Gouache, France
Michele Meloni, Italy
Margarita Stankeviciute, Lithuania
Making cosmetics out of plants
On this day in workshops we prepared cosmetic creams for face and hands. We were divided into groups formed by people from different countries. All groups had their own Polish leader and people had to follow their instructions and communicate with each other in order to make the cream properly. The jobs were divided to each person so everyone had a role to play in the process.
To make healthy cream, we used plants that have oil in itself, like chamomile, whose essential oil gives many benefits to skin, or sunflower, whose oil is rich in vitamin E. After a 1,5 hour the creams were finished and ready to be used. We found this activity very beneficial for both knowledge and health.
After the preparation, we tested the creams on our faces and hands. We had to wait 15 minutes before taking off the masks.
It was really great !!
Martial Buttin, France
Toscane Herve, France
Giuseppe Leacche, Italy
Litutauras Vingras, Lithuania
Agata Hebel, Poland
Scientists we met
We had a chance to meet a lot of professionals, experts on different aspects of biology. We learnt a lot and broadened our school knowledge.
PHD Zbigniew Sobisz, Słupsk University Faculty of Biology
PAULINA TRINKAITĖ, Lithuania
Anita Vergnaud, France
Sebastian Marini, Italy
Sławomir Swerpel, scientist, traveller, author of books and films
Sonia-Rose Gouia, France
KAROLINA MALAKAUSKAITĖ, Lithuania
Virginia Calabrese, Italy
PHD Elżbieta Sontag, Gdansk University Faculty of Biology
My experience in Poland