Eight GUt(e) days!

The Health and Environment Days (GUt), held from June 1 to June 8, 2016, got the staff and students of our university and the city of Zittau moving and showed that exercise and physical activity are good for integrating into everyday life.

Our president, Prof. Friedrich Albrecht, and the mayor of Zittau, Thomas Zenker, led by example during the GUt bike tour. Together with staff from the university and the city administration, they cycled from Zittau’s market square to the tripoint (Poland–Czech Republic–Germany) and back. Along the way, the cyclists were even greeted by the mayor of Hrádek nad Nisou, Josef Horinka. A symbolic bike ride promoting more physical activity, the environment, and boundless good camaraderie.

In addition to biking, walking is of course a wonderful way to incorporate physical activity into everyday life! The step-counter team challenge between the university and the city of Zittau motivated participants to walk over 140,000 steps. This could, of course, be combined with the commute to work, walks around campus, and other good “GUt” activities such as the city’s herb tours in Zittau and Görlitz, as well as the hike through the Zittau City Forest with Forestry Office Director Ms. Bültemeier.

Those who stay “good” should also eat “good.” But please, not “Voll Verzuckert” (Totally Sugary), as the film shown at the Kronenkino in Zittau and Camilo in Görlitz demonstrated. Instead, the movie nights featured sugar- and meat-free meals in a community kitchen style. At lunchtime, the mensaVital in Zittau and Görlitz served dishes that were prepared to preserve vitamins, be low in fat, and be nutritionally balanced—and that inspired people to try making them at home.

The student canteens also hosted an organic market where visitors could purchase organic, regional, and globally fair-trade goods and talk with vendors about the products and production conditions.
Organic, regional, and globally fair-trade itemswere also featured at the GUt Sunday breakfast. Homemade and fair-trade spreads, fair-trade coffee, delicious rice dishes, and other regional and organic products graced the good breakfast table, among other places.

All good things come in threes—there were three Fair Trade activities, and the third was the Smoothie Bike. Participants used their own muscle power—and no electricity—to pedal their way to a smoothie made from fair-trade bananas and regional apples. This was served with fair-trade coffee in compostable cornstarch cups, along with plenty of background information on fair trade and certification.

And for anyone who worked up a sweat after these eight good GUt days, you can now use the GUt soap you made yourself !

And keep it up—stay active, stay on the move…
…for example, participate in “Bike to Work” through August 31, 2016, and win exciting prizes, such as a boat trip, an adventure weekend, or a city tour. A campaign by our GUt partners AOK-Plus and ADFC. For more information and to register, visit: https://www.mit-dem-rad-zur-arbeit.de/infoservice/index.php

A big thank you goes to our partners for their commitment and participation:
City of Zittau, AOK-Plus, ADFC, Fritz Fahrräder, bikeplus, BIOase, Kronenkino, camillo, sneep, Studentenwerk Dresden, the student canteens in Zittau and Görlitz, Eine-Welt e.V. Zittau, Second Attempt e.V., RABRYKA, and Forestry Office Director Angela Bültemeier