How to interest children and young people ecology? This task was undertaken by three organizations that received grants in the program “E.on connects energy for the climate.” The Ecologicum, Mare and La Fontaine foundations invited students of Warsaw schools to educational projects – full of experience, discoveries and creative activities. They are to teach about nature protection in the city and how it affects the biodiversity of water reservoirs.
Children play green
Project of the Ecologicum Foundation “Workshops with good energy!” This is a series of classes in which over a thousand children from classes 1-3 of Warsaw schools took part. The workshops were devoted to renewable energy sources, balanced development and recycling.
– Children worked with our original, large -format and interactive boards. They could produce energy from the wind themselves – blowing on the turbine they checked how electricity is created from air movement -says Anna Sadowska-Deś.
– We also had a hydroelectric plaque. The children poured water, and the turbines started and lit the light. There was also a house with a photovoltaic panel. Our pupils attached the solar system themselves and could see how electricity was created from sunlight. Learning took place through fun and experiments – he adds.
During the classes, there was also a game with questions about ecology. Then the children created their own board games – they had ready sets that had to be supplemented with their own rules and special fields.
Eco-bots are fighting for the Baltic Sea
The project of the Mare Foundation “Eco-Boty: Creative Pro-ecological Education” was devoted to the Baltic Sea ecosystem and its protection. He also assumed the use of artificial intelligence tools. Hence the title eco-bots-children created digital identities and inspired by sea fauna and flora.
– Each class consisted of an educational part and workshops using artificial intelligence – says Patrycja Nowakowska from the Mare Foundation. Students learned about organisms living in the Baltic Sea and learned about the threats to this ecosystem, such as climate change, plastic and noise pollution or translation, i.e. too intense fishing leading to the disappearance of some species of fish. Children from scratch designed their own eco-bots-characters inspired by sea creatures. They could freely choose their features, such as echolocation, transparency and camouflage. Each eco-bot attributed a specific environmental problem, e.g. plastic pollution, and determined how a given character could react to him. During the classes, participants used various AI tools – they used to formulate commands (so -called prompt), arranged songs and created graphics.
– These workshops were piloting. Ultimately, the Mare Foundation hopes to continue educational activities using a special online platform that was created as part of the project. We hope that we will be able to obtain financing for further activities, because we want the classes to be available and free for all willing students – adds Patrycja Nowakowska.
How to protect water in the city
The La Fontaine Foundation has completed the workshops “Sources of Warsaw. We get to know and protect the water of the capital.”
– The aim of the project was to increase children’s awareness in the protection of water resources in the city, understand the role of water in nature and in everyday life, and build responsible ecological attitudes from an early age – says Kamila Krasnodębska, project coordinator. Specialists conducted classes that combined science with experience, movement, discovery and creativity. The topics of the workshop included, among others Water flowing through and near Warsaw, Oligocene water and deep intakes. The need to protect Warsaw waters, in particular the Vistula, was also discussed. Each group participated in two off -road trips. The first led to places related to water intakes and underground watercourses, often invisible every day. The second – to the Vistula ports, where children could look closely at the river, quays and life around the Vistula. At the end of the program, students worked in groups on water projects in their immediate surroundings. They were looking for solutions that could contribute to its protection.
– Trips aroused great emotions – many children could see these places for their own eyes for the first time. Experiments with water, creating sources maps or conversations about “invisible rivers” hidden under the city were also very popular. Children willingly shared their thoughts and reported ideas for environmental protection – explains Kamila Krasnodębska.
The second edition of the program “E.on connects energy for the climate” has started
Currently, recruitment for the next edition of the program is underway. Organizations that – like the Ecologicum, Mare and La Fontaine foundations – want to engage local communities in environmental activities, can submit their ideas until July 30, 2025. Details and application form are available on the website
The partner of the material is E.on Polska
