High school students from Novi Sad and the surrounding area came to Liman Park on November 5, willing to gain some new knowledge about healthy lifestyles through picnics, workshops, socializing and a competition organized by the Rhythm of Health. The entire program is part of the project Let’s have a picnic, which Rhythm of Health is carrying out within the program Novi Sad, the Youth Capital of Europe 2019.
Upon arrival at the park, the students, led by enthusiastic professors and homeroom teachers, divided into teams and got to know each other through educational workshops focusing on the protection of green surfaces in urban areas. Each team, which consisted of students from different schools, had its task. After getting acquainted with the most important information about the protection and importance of green areas in cities, and joint task solving, each team presented its work to others, followed by a discussion. At the end of the workshops, the competitive part of the Playful Picnic began, which aimed to develop and encourage team spirit and cooperation of students in solving tasks that required not only skills but also a lot of thinking and knowledge. In all the games, points were collected which took two teams to the finals, where they competed in five additional games.
The participants of the Games say that Tunnels and Targets were the most interesting games, as well as that they were positively surprised by the whole concept of the Playful Picnic. Some of them surprised themselves as well, considering that they have spent a couple of hours without a mobile phone, and some revealed to us that they have learned new things during the workshops and the knowledge quiz, and that they are glad to have met peers from other schools as well. The professors who brought the teams, showed team spirit, encouraging the students throughout the competition. Talking about the importance of such activities for students, they agree that physical activity and spending time in nature are neglected, and hope that actions like the Playful Picnic will encourage more young people to make the most of the nice weather.
All the fellow citizens who were in Liman Park attended the Playful Picnic. While enjoying healthy fruit snacks, they talked with the volunteers of Rhythm Health about how good it is for young people to spend time outside and learn about park protection, but also asked how they could participate in the education.
Six schools participated in the Playful Picnic: “Svetozar Marković” Grammar School, Medical School “7. April”, Technical School “Pavle Savić”, School of Design “Bogdan Šuput”, Economics and Trade School Bečej and Agricultural School Futog. The finalists of the Games were the students of the Medical School “7. April” and the School of Design “Bogdan Šuput”, with the team of the Art School claiming victory.
The president of the Rhythm of Health Association, Dr. Tatjana Jezdimirović, announced the participation of a larger number of schools from Novi Sad and the surrounding area in the project “Let’s have a picnic”.
Many thanks to all the students, teachers and school management who participated in the Playful Picnic, as well as OPENS. With this event, we send a message that young people can spend quality time in an urban environment and that we all take care of it together!
