#Measures for climate adaptation#Education, science and research
About the organization
Greenpeace campaigns in over 50 countries for the protection of our natural resources.
In Germany, Greenpeace has been a non-profit and peaceful organization for more than 40 years: for consistent climate and resource protection, for the preservation of biodiversity, for a sustainable society. Greenpeace is active on the streets, on the ground with environmental sinners. Greenpeace investigates, clarifies and puts its finger in the wound.
Decisive for the success and credibility of Greenpeace are the strict non-violence of all actions and its complete independence from politics, political parties and business. This independence is possible thanks to the donations of around 620,000 supporting members throughout Germany. In addition, more than 6,000 volunteers work with Greenpeace to protect the environment and the climate.
Transformative learning for people and the planet is essential for our survival and for future generations. The time to learn and act for our planet is now!
Why we fund
Education is a key issue in view of the global challenges we face. Stiftung Zukunftjetzt! supports the "Schools for Earth" project because it strengthens effective climate protection and youth participation in schools and makes future-relevant topics such as climate protection, sustainable consumption, democracy and peace a lived and tangible school culture.
"Schools for Earth" also ties in with the National Action Plan "Education for Sustainable Development" and contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 global goals for sustainable development contained therein.
With a holistic view of all areas of school activities - the so-called Whole School Approach - the sustainability topics are not only imparted as knowledge across all subjects and dealt with in a solution-oriented manner in projects, but also implemented through practical action in everyday school life. Pupils thus experience self-efficacy ("Education to Action" approach, from knowledge to action), learn democratic participation and strengthen their design and action skills for a challenging present and future.
The Climate Lab made me realize that there is also participation at my school. As a pupil, I now know that I can get involved at school.
PROJECT DETAILS
What we fund
"Schools for Earth" - the Greenpeace school project
In view of the ever more apparent climate crisis, education for sustainable development (ESD) is becoming increasingly relevant. Furthermore, schools are among the largest public energy consumers in Germany. Pupils are therefore rightly demanding that their school environment also respond appropriately to the challenges of the climate crisis. Integrating this into normal school life presents many schools and teachers with major challenges.
That is why the Greenpeace project “Schools for Earth” supports interested schools on their way to climate neutrality and sustainability. It is important that the entire school community is involved. The project's support is correspondingly broad.
What we have already achieved (funding period 01.04.2022 – 31.03.2023):
More than 300 schools are now participating in the project by calculating their carbon footprint and integrating education for sustainable development (ESD) into their daily school routine. The “Schools for Earth” teaching materials are used in more than 6,000 schools. In many project schools, the school community's climate work is also having a positive impact on local communities, public administration and local businesses. Numerous handouts, various teaching materials and the further development of the CO2 school calculator are enabling more and more schools to join the “Schools for Earth” community – in addition to general education schools, primary schools, vocational schools and special education schools are now also joining. Another milestone during the funding period was the development of an augmented reality application. The project funding provided by the Stiftung Zukunftjetzt! foundation has thus contributed significantly to a sustainable expansion and strengthening of the “Schools for Earth” community.
What we want to achieve (funding period 01.06.2024 – 31.03.2025):
Studies show that the major ecological and social challenges are increasingly weighing on the younger generation and often triggering feelings of powerlessness. At the same time, schoolbooks deal with environmental and future-related topics almost exclusively from a problem-oriented perspective, with threatening-seeming facts, figures and images. As a result, solutions and a sense of agency, and thus the possibility of shaping the future, are greatly underrepresented or even lost. We therefore want to develop materials for teachers that address the three future-relevant topics of climate, biodiversity and oceans using a solution-oriented approach. This allows students to grasp a problem in the context of a solution – not, as has been the case so far, the other way around. At the same time, the teaching materials also provide teachers with an explanation of the underlying didactic principle, along with a blueprint for applying the innovative approach to other topics (for more information on the solution-oriented approach, see: https://doinggeoandethics.com/thomas-hoffmann/.
Around 2.3 million students are taught at vocational schools (as of the 2021/22 school year). For their specific needs, the centerpiece of the “Schools for Earth” project, the CO2 school calculator, is to be expanded to include the emission area of “occupationally relevant materials”. This expansion will enable the CO2 balance of materials frequently used by schools in highly frequented training occupations (in administration, trade, industry and skilled crafts) to be calculated. This makes the climate relevance of food in the catering industry, of metals for mechanics, and much more obvious. In this way, we create the basis for a more conscious handling of these materials and also for deciding between alternatives. This applies not only in training, but also in later professional life. Solution-oriented thinking and action in terms of efficiency, sufficiency and consistency in workflows and production processes are encouraged.
