Monitoring of the project "Dein.Klima - Energiesparmodelle für Schulen im Rhein-Neckar-Kreis" (Your.Climate - Energy-saving models for schools in the Rhine-Neckar district)

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The aim of "Dein.Klima" is to introduce and support climate protection projects in 25 participating schools in the Rhine-Neckar district. The schools are advised and supported by ifeu and KLiBA Heidelberg.

Climate protection projects in schools offer a concrete answer to the currently pressing question of how climate protection can be implemented in everyday life. Schools integrate the topic of climate protection into school life and lessons, implementing the content of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which has been anchored as a guiding perspective in all school curricula in Baden-Württemberg since 2016. Through a broad awareness and positive approach to climate protection and sustainability in schools, CO2, energy and resources can be saved in everyday school life.

How do climate protection projects or energy saving models work in schools?

Depending on previous experience and organisational possibilities, schools of every school type put together a team, ideally consisting of pupils, teachers and caretakers. The energy team/sustainability team, supported by the school management, organises the implementation of the climate protection project throughout the year. All educational activities and topics relevant to everyday life are possible, such as traditional energy saving, food shopping, the choice of school materials, dealing with waste at school and the choice of transport to and from school.

At the end of each school year, the activities and actions are surveyed with a questionnaire. In recognition of the pedagogical work and commitment, the schools receive annual bonuses from the school authorities/municipalities.

At the beginning of the project, initial meetings (kick-off visits) are held with all schools involved in the project in order to take stock of the activities already underway, identify possible savings measures and receive impulses for further climate protection activities. In the course of the project years, the schools are supported by ifeu and KLiBA with on-site appointments (e.g. action day, advice for caretakers, workshop for energy teams or within the framework of an overall teachers' conference).

The participating municipalities support the schools as school authorities. They finance the activity bonuses and can provide additional impetus for climate protection at schools, especially on technical and logistical issues (heating system, waste collection system, traffic planning).

The project is funded by the National Climate Initiative (Nationale Klimaschutz Initiative NKI).