WHY TELLUS?

A century ago in almost all of the countries of Europe, the great majority of primary school children lived in rural areas and were familiar with the activities and lifestyle of the countryside. Teachers used the children's daily experiences to teach them about the living world, about different areas and societies. Often, the teachers themselves came from a rural background.

The context into which teaching has been placed today is quite different. We increasingly live and work in large towns and cities. In rural areas, farmers are now almost never the majority group. A great many families no longer have any real rural roots to speak of. And at the same time, the inhabitants of our towns and cities, despite being the end consumers of the products of agriculture, have only a very vague idea of what the living and working conditions of that sector really are.

The following essential changes have occurred:
- In the past, most people produced their own food, i.e. farming was based on subsistence agriculture. This is no longer the case.
- The distances between the areas where food is produced and where it is sold and eaten are becoming ever greater.
- Agricultural produce is subjected to a great many more industrial or other processes before being placed on the market.

These factors have lead to ignorance by producers and consumers of one another's role. Unrestricted trust is no longer placed in farmers. New considerations have appeared, such as the preservation of the environment. Following the recent crises suffered by the agricultural sector, such as BSE and foot-and-mouth disease, society is increasingly demanding traceability of food produce.
This is the general backdrop against which the TELLUS project was created. This project is targeted at primary school children and its aim is to bring mutual respect back into the relationship between two groups of society that do not know enough about one another, in spite of their inevitable mutual dependency.

TELLUS 1

The TELLUS pack contains a set of educational documents which aim to present the agricultural sector within the European Union to children aged between 9 and 11 years of age, i.e. who are in their final years of primary school education.

It includes:

- a comic strip entitled "The Tellus Mission":

- six information booklets on agricultural production, the forestry sector and fishing and aquaculture, for the pupils to read:

Booklet 1 - Agriculture in Europe

Booklet 2 - Arable Farming

Booklet 3 - Horticulture, viticulture and specialised crops

Booklet 4 - Livestock farming in Europe

Booklet 5 - The forests of Europe

Booklet 6 - Fishing and aquaculture in Europe

- a teacher's booklet comprising a presentation of the Tellus project as a whole and offering tips on how to use the pack as well as information on the different countries of the European Union and a collection of works of art and poems from each:

- "worksheets"

TELLUS 2

A new booklet on EU Enlargement and the agriculture of the new member States - for secondary schools.