Education of Young People

We contribute to the awareness of young people of the lowering of energy and water consumption, as well as decreasing the environmental impact in this century of climatic changes. We organise thematic workshops for the primary school children.

The following is a list of schools where Natural Science Days were held, entitled “THE CHILDREN ARE CHANGING THE ENERGY CULTURE”:

• PS (Primary School) Josipa Plemlja, Bled
• PS Lipnica
• PS Predoslje
• PS Franceta Prešerna Kranj, the Kokrica branch
• PS Helene Puhar, Kranj
• PS Franceta Prešerna Kranj, the Kokrica branch
• PS Staneta Žagarja Kranj
• PS Kokrica Kranj

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article »Lipnica - eko šola«

“Let’s protect nature and think with our heads”

Lipnica – The Staneta Žagarja Primary School joined the “Eco School as a Way of Life” national project last school year and, during that time, realised seven steps of the Eco School project: research into environmental problems at the school and finding real solutions, which are then implemented. In the continuation of the project this year, a natural sciences day entitled “Save Energy” was organised a few days ago for the eighth grade pupils. The project was prepared in cooperation with the El-tec Mulej company from Bled and the Society for Energy Economics and Ecology from Ljubljana.
The eighth grade pupils first attended a lecture on climate changes, their causes and their expected consequences and afterwards they had a professional guided tour of the school’s energy technology (the building, the boiler room and the lighting system). Finally, the pupils solved some practical exercises. The goal of the project was to warn the pupils of the importance of a friendly attitude towards the environment, because this is one of the conditions for them if they are to leave the planet to their children in at least in the same condition that they received it. All the children contributed 500 tolars for the realisation of the workshop; the remainder was contributed by the El-tec Mulej company from Bled (60 thousand tolars). Nuša Mulej from the El-tec company stated that they decided to cooperate in this project because, while the general public still does not react appropriately to environmental problems, the children can still adopt this awareness during the process of education. She also warned that education for a healthy environment must start at an early age, when a person’s personality is still developing Mulej explained that they decided to cooperate with the Society for Energy Economics and Ecology from Ljubljana because this Society possesses professionally qualified personnel for the realisation of these kinds of projects.
Nuša Kolman and Marjana Žmavc, the Eco School coordinators at the Staneta Žagarja Primary School, stressed that the shaping of a friendly attitude towards the environment has to be imparted from the early years. In this way, the children will grow up with an awareness of the importance of a friendly attitude towards the environment. It is also important that the children, by way of positive example, influence the adults (the parents, relatives, etc.), because they tend to forget that this planet we live on is the only one we have and must be taken care of. The children can use their influence to warn adults of the importance of an environmentally friendly attitude and encourage them to adopt the same attitude.
Among others, the goals of the Eco School were to keep the environment clean and healthy, to prevent harmful influences in the vicinity of the school, to take care of the environment and keep it healthy, not to endanger the fragile conditions of nature and to seek solutions for a better future. At the same time, the two coordinators warned that the awareness of the importance of a healthy living environment in the society is also too low and that this is their way of trying, to the best of their ability, to contribute to a healthy environment. They stressed that if even just one individual acts in an environmentally friendly manner, important work has been done (in the sense that “Rome was not built in a day”).
As part of the Eco School project, the pupils created their Eco Sign, which represents the renewable energy sources (the wind and the sun), formed an Eco Document, the main part of which are ecological rules, received an Eco Flag, which is an international acknowledgment of ecological activity and which requires constant confirmation through active work. They also wrote their own Eco Hymn.