Three4Climate schools organize Climate Action Days

Osnovna šola Stražišče Kranj, Slovenia

At the participating school in Kranj, teachers Bojana Ropret and Mineja Grašič, their colleagues and their students organized a Climate Action Day on June 3^rd according to the motto “There is no planet B”. All grades from 1-9 were engaged in activities such as creating colorful blossoms from used plastic bottles, redesigning used clothes and drawing story boards with tips on how to live more climate-friendly. “All of our students put in a lot of effort, they created numerous wonderful creations and learnt a lot about taking care of the environment” explained headmaster Pavel Srečnik. “It is our wish to organize similar action days in the years to come” he added. In a video message, some of the students from Kranj proclaim: “We recycle for a beautiful environment, we shouldn’t discard waste in nature, we turn off the lights and we keep our environment clean by caring for it!”

Copyright all pictures: OŠ Stražišče Kranj

III. Gymnazija in Maribor, Slovenia

At Maribor’s III. Gymnazija, the activities of the Climate Action Day organized by the teachers Jasna Ul Može and Jasmina Jančič lasted from June 3 to June 4.  The school invited experts Dr. Dejan Meh Savić (Greenpeace Slovenia) and Dr. Lučka Kajfež Bogataj (climatologist) to talk to students about how to battle climate change together and about its impacts on life. The Climate Action Days were also moved to the city center of Maribor. At Freedom Square, stands were put up to present the schools’ activities to the locals. Even the mayor of Maribor Aleksander Saša Arsenovič paid a visit to the stands. Another highlight was the opening of a herbal garden next to the school. Until June 14, visitors of the exhibition center Urban were able to admire the works by students within the Three4Climate project. More videos and photos of the Climate Action Days and other Three4Climate activities in Maribor can be found on the school’s website.

Copyright all pictures: III. gymnazija Maribor

Escola Professor Sebastião Teixeira Salir in Loulé, Portugal

At Escola Professor Sebastião Teixeira Salir in Loulé two Climate Action Days were held on June 2nd and 4^th. Similar to Maribor, the programme included lectures by external speakers such as the presentation of the Association of forest producers from Serra do Caldeirão on the characteristics of the forest and the regional climate. Students were able to join workshops on “Garbage keepers”, on the “Pollution of the ocean” and on “Eco art” as well as a Science Lab. The programme also featured very practice-oriented activities like collecting garbage at the coast, making lunch with solar ovens, joining bike rides and a theater show on “Alex, the agent of the environment”. Students also organized exhibitions on the topics “my garbage” and the “Algarvensis Geopark”, as well as on the student submissions to the Three4Climate student contest. Further highlights were the construction of a garden with adapted plants and the launch of a music video on climate action that is based on the Brasilian song “O sal da terra” (the salt of the earth). Students also created a video summary of “Everything about the Climate Action Days“.

Copyright all pictures: EB Prof. Sebastiao Teixeira

Agrupamento de Escolas de Celeirós in Braga, Portugal

At the Three4Climate school in Braga, the Climate Action Day on June 4^th featured activities such as an educational game about climate change, a workshop with local Fridays For Future activists, an exhibition on “the usual suspects”, various film screenings, science labs and a mountain bike race. Similar to Maribor and Loulé, the Climate Action Day was used as an opportunity to the inaugurate a brand-new community garden. Promoting the efficient use of energy at the school, fluorescent lamps were exchanged for LED lamps in two of the classrooms. In a video, students presented their Climate Action Day and interview headmaster Célia Simões and others on the importance of climate actions at school.

Copyright both pictures: Agrupamento de Escolas de Celeirós

Networking meeting between the Three4Climate Schools

On Friday, 4^th of June, three of the Three4Climate schools from Braga, Maribor and Bielefeld joined in an online meeting to share their work in climate action, to get to know each other better and to exchange in a playful way. At the beginning of the meeting, Sigrid Lindner (Guidehouse) welcomed all teachers and students and presented a video message from the German Minister for the Environment, Svenja Schulze who greeted the Three4Climate students whom she had met during a virtual exchange last year. As a warm-up activity, the students Zala and Ana from Maribor prepared a game: All participants should post they favorite food, animals and sports in an online platform – providing also the local language translation.

The following point on the agenda was an environmental quiz, prepared by teachers Michelle Starke, Caroline Wittland and their team of students from the sustainability working group of the Gymnasium am Waldhof Bielefeld. One question was: “How much CO2 can be saved by deleting old e-mails?”. The answer: “One saved e-mail causes around 4 g CO2” which led  Michele Starke to propose an “E-mail Deleting Day” in schools on which all students and teachers delete e-mails, which are not needed anymore.

Next, the team from Braga presented a Padlet with questions on things everybody can do to mitigate climate change. Most answers on personal contributions refer to using public transport, recycling, saving water and avoiding waste.

To conclude the meeting, teacher Mafalda Parente from Braga asked all participants to sing a Portuguese song together.