Bright Ideas for Energy Education!

This section of the website highlights a variety of activities designed to stimulate children's enthusiasm for energy saving, renewable energy and sustainable mobility.

This is essentially a collection of mini case studies and links providing simple ideas that can be replicated across schools in Europe. Current examples inlcude:

• Classroom activities
• Walk to school schemes
• Campaigns
• In-class competitions
• Student conferences & networks
• Plays and music
• Renewable energy installations

Classroom activities

The IEEA has recently launched a video Europe`s children learn to Fight Climate Change, which illustrates how FEEDU uses a range of creative energy education activites both within and outside the classroom. You can View the video online or order a copy.

If you have been involved in an energy education project that children in your school or region enjoyed, we would be very pleased to hear from you. Use the feedback form or simply send an e-mail with details (and pictures) to kidscorner[at]managenergy.net *

*To deter 'spambots' the @ has been replaced with [at] in the e-mail address above.

Walk to school schemes

In October 2007, an innovative Walk to School scheme scooped first prize in the Environment and Innovation Project, hosted by Toyota Motor Europe and the Eco-Schools International Programme Coordination.

The winning project, Stamp Stanley – Walk to Millfield Project, aimed to reduce traffic congestion by creating a long-term incentive for children to walk to and from Millfield school in Norfolk, UK. The school installed permanent checkpoint machines along school routes so students could collect a stamp for each “green journey” made. Stamps are then saved up and exchanged at school for a wide range of rewards.

Campaigns

Young people, the future generations, are given a platform to confront politicians with their hopes and fears about climate change and environmental damage. Their statements and demands can be sent in as letters, photos,videos and drawings to the KidsCall P.O. Box or uploaded on the campaign website www.kidscall.info. At the G8-Summit in Japan in July 2008, the submissions from children across the world will be handed over to the politicians, whose decisions ditrectly affect the health of the environment and the welfare of tomorrow's citizens.

Competitions

ManagEnergy ran it's 2nd Online Drawing and Photo Compeition in 2007. The competition website features details of regional compeitions, winners, presentations and a gallery featuring several hundred entries.

Following an energy meeting with Atkins, The John Henry Newman School energy team in the UK now runs a competition where they carry out spot checks on classes at lunchtime. Points are awarded if all lights and monitors are turned off and doors are closed during winter time. The class with the most points every fortnight wins a trophy made by the team. The pupils run the competition by themselves, filling out certificates and changing the name of the winning class on the trophy.

Atkins also ran a solar buggy racing competition among local primary schools as part of the Oxfordshire County Council Schools Energy Project.

More recently, six primary school in Oxfordshire, UK, were awarded prizes for creative energy saving designs. As part of Protect Our Planet (POP) week, the children took part in a competition to invent their own energy efficient super hero. The younger children coloured in pictures of Ronaldo the reindeer, downloaded from the ManagEnergy website.

The Republic of Serbia Energy Efficiency Agency (SEEA) ran a Media Campaign on TV, print and Radio under the theme "Save Energy - Be Wise". This involved distribution of an interactive CD-ROM on energy efficiency. The SEEA also ran local events, including writing and drawing competitions on the theme of energy. ThE SEEA is now promoting the ManagEnergy online drawing and photography competition 2007 to 1500 schools in Serbia.

Music and drama on an energy theme

Plays and muscial performances are another very effective way to engage children in energy issues. Children from L'Ecole 7 du Bois de la Cambre and Ecole Les Jardins D'Elise, Brussels, Belgium, recently performed a short musical at the ManagEnergy education event during EUSEW. The musical - L'énergie c'est notre vie (Energy is our life) - was created as part of the schools' participation in the FEEDU project.

View more pictures

Renewable Energy Installations at Schools

Part of the Eco-schools network, The Estorf primary school in Lower Saxony, Germany between Hamburg and Bremen aims to be a 100% sustainable energy school.
The school has 18m² solar collectors to heat the showers in the gym and a 9.6 kWpeak photovoltaic installation on the roof covering 60% of the school's electrical needs. A monitoring system and display enables children to see the output of the school's solar systems.