Series winner: Two schools in Penzberg once again win the title of “environmental school”

Created: 12/14/2022 10:02 am

By: Wolfgang Schorner

The middle school celebrated the award of the title “environmental school” with a big party.

© Wolfgang Schörner

For the eighth time in a row, the Penzberg middle school has received the title of "environmental school".

She turned it into a big party in the town hall in front of hundreds of students.

The Penzberger Realschule can also continue to call itself an “environmental school”.

She received the award for the sixth time.

Penzberg – Throughout Bavaria, 624 schools were awarded the title “Environmental School in Europe” this year, including the Mayor Prandl Middle School and the Heinrich Campendonk Realschule from Penzberg.

The award is presented every year by a jury consisting of representatives from the environment and culture ministries, the state association for bird protection and the academy for teacher training

Middle school makes a big party out of the eighth title

The middle school students turned their eighth title in a row into a festival at the town hall.

Ute Kurz, the teacher and environmental officer, explained how it all began.

Ten years ago she saw a film about the rainforest and its destruction and then founded a “Rainforest AG” at middle school.

At that time, a student approached her with a newspaper article that said the high school was an "environmental school".

"Why don't we?" the boy asked.

This question was decisive: the school applied for the award for the first time.

Since then, the students have put a lot of effort into it every year, says Ute Kurz.

It's not difficult to motivate them.

The same goes for the teachers.

Meanwhile, the middle school also has a teacher-environmental team.

Tips on what schoolchildren can do on a small scale to protect the environment and climate

In the town hall, 13 boys and girls reported on the environmental activities and gave tips on what schoolchildren can do on a small scale: don't take the car to school, turn down the heating, buy notebooks made from recycled paper and plant trees.

There was also advice on avoiding plastic: use colored pencils made of wood and, if you already have them, use plastic pencil cases until they break.

It is fitting that old loose-leaf binders were discovered while clearing out the school, which were offered for further use.

A water dispenser was also purchased, where bottles brought along can be refilled in order to save on plastic bottles.

Blank pages from old notebooks become new spiral notebooks

The students said that one of the first actions of the "Regenwald AG" was to check whether the school uses recycled paper - which is the case now.

A “rain forest shop” was also opened where recycling booklets can be bought.

A girl talked about the idea of ​​removing empty pages from exercise books at the end of the school year, collecting them and using them to bind new spiral notebooks – these are also sold at the school.

Gift packaging and decorative items were also made from recycled material.

The proceeds went to a rainforest organization to plant new trees.

"By now it will be a small forest," said one student.

Other campaigns were a "climate radio" and a swap party with secondary school and high school.

Realschule wins title for the sixth time in a row

This year, the secondary school can look forward to the title “environmental school” for the sixth time in a row.

Every year there is the elective “AG Environment”.

The students planted early bloomers, created insect-friendly flower borders and set up insect hotels in the playground.

They also sold fair-trade chocolate and implemented a street art project entitled "Trash in our seas" in the school café.

According to teacher Gabi Hörer from the environmental team, fifth graders have been given a package of notebooks made from recycled paper on the first day of school for a number of years.

Such notebooks and pads can also be bought in the student café throughout the school year.

Ninth graders carried out a mobile phone collection campaign in religious instruction - the disused mobile phones were sent to the Catholic aid organization "Missio".

Eighth graders created an exhibition on the subject of water.