A year ago the European School Luxembourg 1 was in all the local newspapers thanks to the installation of solar panels on three of our roofs.
The photovoltaic installation was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of Mr. Steffan Haubold, the school administration, the Ministry of the Environment, Enovos and Electro Center.
A year later we had the chance to “meet” Mr Haubold, professor of mathematics and physics and Ms. Clarembeau, Education Advisor KiVa and “Assistant” of Mr. Haubold, to discuss not only this success but also other future initiatives. Also present was Alison Micklem from the European School in Varese who also wanted to share the experiences of other European schools.
Pleased with the progress made but realistically Mr Haubold comments: “The photovoltaic panels have been a huge achievement, but it is a long process that is still going on. It took 3 years of hard work, dialogue between the various stakeholders to carry out this project, which at the moment is only half complete. The panels cover three out of five roofs. A gymnasium, kindergarten and canteen are covered, but the roofs of the administrative building and the primary building still need to be equipped. Once they are all equipped and connected we can consider the work to be done. »
In addition to the photovoltaic installation Mr Haubold also explained that the European school Luxembourg I has joined the Sustainable and Innovative School (SIS) programme, an initiative of Benu Village. It is a programme that tries to reflect on the world of tomorrow through concrete actions today. This initiative has created six working groups at the school :
– Mobility – promotion of more eco-responsible means of transport. The group is the originator of Bike to School, month of soft mobility, bike repair shop (project in progress);
– Food – ecobox, vegetarian day;
– Waste – motivate students and school staff to use reusable bottles and cutlery, various demonstrations such as making a pile of rubbish in the schoolyard to show how quickly one accumulates;
– Communication – motivation and communication through social networks;
– School program – student and teacher information work;
– School infrastructure – school garden (he has already produced potatoes that have been cooked and served in the canteen), installation of beehives and chicken coop (in project).
Each working group is made up of students, teachers and also volunteer parents. They meet monthly, but unfortunately the pandemic has slowed the progress of many projects.
Mr. Haubold also made the traditional 6th year trip more eco-responsible by joining a CO2 footprint offset program, encouraging the use of buses and trains instead of airplanes, and introducing a vegetarian day during the stay.
Before the pandemic, some students had become “climate ambassadors,” organized marches on Climate Fridays and made sure to recall simple everyday gestures such as closing windows and turning off lights when leaving a room. The pandemic made it almost impossible on Fridays for the climate.
Unfortunately, there have also been some setbacks:
“We also asked to install showers for teachers and students who come to school by bicycle as well as charging stations for electric cars, but both projects were rejected,” Haubold said.
“We would also like to do an event to inform about climate justice by doing an exhibition. Another idea in these times of pandemic would be to install VCCs with double flux in order to ventilate while recovering heat and filtering the air. »
How can parents and the Parents’ Association contribute to a more environmentally responsible school?
Mr Haubold would like more parents to join the working groups, all of whom are welcome. And promote soft mobility. It’s a joint effort.
Alison Micklem from Varese School also shared her experiences. In Varese there is a professional who is responsible for creating a brand for the school, a bit like “green school”, he works on this with many stakeholders such as school, teachers, students, local authorities but also parents and local businesses.
Only together can we limit the damage for future generations.
If you too would like to make your contribution, if only with a word of encouragement or an idea, we invite you to write to us.
Matilde Fernandes
APEEEL 1 – Working Group: Ecology