Europa School, winner of the EDP Foundation’s contest “We Choose Earth: Ideas for Sustainability”
During the final stage of the contest, held in the Cartuja Center CITE in Seville, a thousand children from nine Sevillian schools have presented their ideas for environmental protection
The EDP Foundation has celebrated the final of the Sevillian edition of the school contest “EDP We Choose Earth, Ideas for Sustainability”. An educational activity framed within the education program Your Energy and designed to promote sustainability and energy transformation among second and third cycle students of Primary.
More than a thousand children from 9 Sevillian schools, specifically Giner de los Ríos, CEIP José Payán Garrido, Special Education Center Institute of Psychopediatrics, Balcón de Sevilla, CEIP Europa, Arboleda, CEIP Miguel de Cervantes, Santa Isabel and SAFA Patronato Vereda, have been the protagonists of a day that sought to get the youngest generation involved in protecting the planet, encouraging them to become agents of change in their closest environment. In Seville’s Cartuja Center CITE, these kids have presented their ideas to help build a better world, one that is more committed to the environment.
Europa public school, in Montequinto (Dos Hermanas), was chosen by the jury composed of Laura Benítez, coordinator of the SEO BirdLife children and teens Environmental Education Club; Arcadio Gutiérrez, Enerclub director, and José Barrera Castaño, secretary general of Andalusia’s Journalist Association. Their project stems from a collective brainstorming session between the students of 5th and 6th grade of Primary and includes measures such as providing classrooms with a thermometer to verify the temperature and establishing cold and heat limits, avoiding leaving electronic devices on stand-by, or appointing someone in charge of turning off the lights.
“We are very happy that our effort has been recognized. We have all worked together on ideas to leave a better planet for the children who will come after us. Teamwork is really important in our school, our motto is: “We are droplets and together we make oceans,” said Laura Puente, student representative of CEIP Europa. “I am very grateful for receiving the award, and also to our classmates from 5th and 6th grade for making such a big effort and really pushing themselves for this project,” added her classmate David Almeida. Marina Velasco, a teacher from the winning school, explained that “we wanted to work as a group and relate it to energy, so we joined two grades, divided them by groups, and each group became an expert in a topic. Here we can only see a small part, but there is so much work behind done by the students and the staff.”
As a reward for their excellent work, CEIP Europa school will receive the implementation of a solar installation, an electric charging point in the school or a different kind of sustainable initiative, with a maximum cost of 5,000€, which will allow for the school to turn into a more sustainable and eco-friendly space.
“We will keep betting on you”, said Vanda Martins
Among the other ideas presented were such original proposals as a rap song by the SAFA school Patronato Vereda, which shows that “saving energy is cool,” the eco-sustainable news bulletin by José Payán school; the installation of sunshades in the Special Education Center Institute of Psychopediatrics so they don’t need to use air conditioning, or even a documentary series by the Balcón de Sevilla school with different episodes explaining how to turn schools centers into “eco-schools.”
“In the EDP Foundation we will keep betting on you, on little boys and girls, and on education as an essential pillar to build a future that is fairer, more sustainable and more socially compromised,” said the director of the EDP Foundation, Vanda Martins.
Meanwhile, the regional delegate of Education Development, Professional Formation and University of the Government of Andalusia, Miguel Ángel Arauz, thanked the EDP Foundation for organizing these contests “as they are very important.” All of you have won, the work you have done is fantastic. That’s why it is important that you carry out these awareness-raising activities in school, since you are little. This is the way: respect for nature, defending our natural environment and, above all, always choosing Earth.”
With this action, the EDP Foundation strengthens its commitment to education as an agent of social change, supporting young people’s talent and potential and providing them with the essential tools to develop their studies free from social obstacles.
