Winners of the Three4Climate Student Contest on Climate Neutrality met in Germany, Portugal and Slovenia

The Three4Climate project connects six cities and six schools from Germany, Portugal and Slovenia to enable exchange and cooperation on local climate action. As part of the project, students from each school took part in a climate neutrality contest. They submitted a vision of their climate-neutral city or school in the year 2050 in various formats such as self-made videos, models, pictures or texts (see EUKI community post on the winning submissions). As a prize, the winners were invited to participate in a joint weekend with the Three4Climate partner organization in their country. The winners weekends took place in different formats and with different activities in each country. But of course, networking between the three countries was also part of the program. All the winning teams got together for a festive online award ceremony on Saturday evening. The winners were congratulated by Caterina Salb from the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and Linda Beyschlag from Guidehouse who both agreed that the students’ knowledge on and enthusiasm for the topic of climate change was impressive and motivating. The students also presented their contest submissions to each other and exchanged ideas and information about climate action activities at their schools.

by by Muriel Neugebauer (UfU), Ana Lúcia Fonseca (FCiências.ID) & Branka Mirt (Energap), UfU, FCiências.ID, Energap

Published: 09 September 2021
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Winners weekend in Germany

The students from Germany took part in a workshop on climate activism and public relations. The six winners from Bielefeld met in Berlin for various activities such as a bike tour with the topic “critique of consumption” or a workshop with the Federal Agency for Civic Education on “Media landscape “. In addition, the group exchanged ideas with Fridays for Future activists from Berlin. In the evening, everyone took part in the short film event “Floating Cinema” from a pedal boat on the Berlin river Spree. On the last day, the students talked about their experiences in climate action with a journalist in the nature reserve “Sandgrube” in Berlin’s largest green area the Grunewald, took press photos and shot a film (see below). At 34 degrees Celsius, a short swim in the Teufelssee lake allowed for a little refreshment.

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The winners from Germany of the Three4Climate student contest (from left to right): Marlene, Greta, Marieke, Linn, Meret & Smilla. Copyright all pictures: UfU

Winners weekend in Portugal

The students in Portugal visited the sustainable adventure park Parque Aventura Sniper in Bucelas (Loures Municipality, near Lisbon) and spent an action-packed weekend inside the nature park that is surrounded by endogenous plant species. They had the chance to go up a climbing wall and had to find their way out of a maze inside a cave. Not only adventure was on the agenda during this weekend, but also the opportunity to hear from the CEO of the park who explained the ethical reasons for this project which focuses on environmental protection and conservation of biodiversity. The students learned why this business model was chosen, what environmental sustainability measures were already implemented and which goals have been set for the future of the nature park.

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The Portuguese contest winners enjoyed rapelling at Sniper Adventure Park at Bucelas.

Winners weekend in Slovenia

The winners of the Three4Climate student contest from Slovenia spent the weekend in Notranjska regional park which is characterized by a large number of karst phenomena both on the surface and underground. In the protected area there is a large number of rare and diverse habitats, flora and fauna, as well as geological and cultural heritage. During a walk on the first day students explored Rakov Škocjan Valley which was created due to the ceiling of a karst cave sinking and collapsing. This is proven by the 42-meter Little Natural Bridge and the 37-meter Big Natural Bridge.

On the second day students went cycling around Lake Cerknica, one of the largest intermittent lakes that disappears completely in the dry season. The area of Notranjska regional park is also known for the presence of brown bears. Local guides had prepared games such as finding a “bear” that was waiting at the end of the trail – with covered eyes (see picture). In addition to exploration and fun, students had the opportunity to hear and reflect on the importance of nature protection and preserving its diversity from local experts.

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Exploring Rakov Škocjan Valley.

In addition to the Climate Action Days organized by the Three4Climate schools earlier in June, the weekend trips gave the winners of the Three4Climate contest the opportunity to explore in playful and informative ways how sustainable and climate friendly recreation can go hand in hand with nature conservation. It was also the first chance for the Three4Climate students to meet and connect with their peers within their countries in person and therefore build stronger bonds.

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