The BOSTAN SPICES initiative integrates state-of-the-art knowledge from two University of Haifa research hubs – Laboratory of Archaeozoology in the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures and Taking Citizen Science to School (TCSS), a research center under the joint auspices of the University of Haifa and the Technion. Extending the BOSTAN-SPICES scope of research, the BOSTAN SPICES initiative is implementing a novel interdisciplinary project with tangible ‘third-mission’ impact outside the immediate realm of the university. Blending insights from several research fields — bioarchaeology, anthropology, digital science, welfare and health sciences, and citizen science education — we fostered the “BOSTAN SPICES” collaborative initiative, with “SPICES” standing for School Participation in Citizen Science. Our collaboration centers on the synergetic fusion of our combined expertise to generate an experiential program that utilizes natural open spaces and technology-enhanced resources to generate a novel empiric education platform to confront complex issues. 

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Our initiative aims to enable communities of school students, teachers and scientists to explore how lessons from past modes of agricultural resilience can be employed to foster sustainability in the future. We are doing this by utilizing a citizen science genre of applied research, where scientists and students work to advance research and informed action. Capitalizing on our combined knowledge and experience, we are applying an existing platform developed in TCSS to create a hands-on learning sequence – activities that can lend educators the tools to integrate the BOSTAN research protocol into school curriculum thus enabling students to take part in ongoing cutting-edge research.

 

The connotations of this entity, which feature experiential teacher-student involvement in shared heritage horticulture renewal, are immense. Its content and context tackle a number of issues plaguing modern educational frameworks – not least, the acute need to reacquaint present-day students with their natural habitats and cultural surroundings in meaningful ways – and hence engenders a kind of universal pedagogic appeal. Moreover, with its preliminary application occurring in the ‘Gaza Envelope’, an area whose hard-hit population yet suffers from an unfolding trauma, the importance of the project as a compelling panacea for deep seated contemporary matters – takes on additional credence.