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Environmental Education
The eco-station is an environmental education centre affiliated to the
Federal Association for Nature and Environmental Protection, in short
BUND, which is one of Germanys two largest environmental organisations.
The centre comprises a low-energy building with wooden dome, loam walls,
grass roof and solar system. We also have a bio-garden with pond, a
compost system and medicinal herb garden. As well as organising special
events for the population at large, since 1986 the centre offers
educational courses for schools and nursery school groups, as well as
for teachers and specialists from a variety of areas.
Environmental awareness in Germany
The eco-station was founded in 1986, a time when people in Germany had
become highly aware of environmental problems and such environmental
catastrophes as the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, accidents in large
chemical works, the forest die-back syndrome, and our mountains of
refuse. At that time, the Federal Ministry for the Environment was
created, along with environmental authorities at both communal and
provincial level; a number of new laws were passed and measures taken
for the protection of the environment; and eco-centres were established.
Today, the existing environmental problems have only partly been
alleviated, and in the meantime new ones have evolved. These include CO2
emission and climate changes, the growing number of cars, dangers
presented by genetic engineering, soil acidification, and the high
consumption of energy by people in rich countries.
Environmental education
Environmental education and training pose a constant challenge. The aim
is to make people aware of the problems so that they can face up to
future challenges. We must teach them treat nature, the environment and
existing resources responsibly, so that the basic conditions for life
can be preserved for future generations.
Environmental education starts at an early, pre-school age.
Nature-experiences in the childhood, have a lasting impression on
people. For example: the taste of a certain fruit or the smell of damp
spring earth. Childhood experiences of nature may give a person courage
and strength and impart a positive attitude to life.
Environmental education does not wish to emphasise how bad the world we
live in is, nor the many catastrophes we face, it does not aim to make
our children frightened, nor impose bans; it merely strives to arouse
respect and love for living nature. Only if we know and love nature,
will we protect it. Environmental education aims to create a new set of
values.
Environmental education addresses man in his entirety. It is not only
about acquiring new knowledge. Sensory perception and emotional
experience combined with practical action play an important role.
Sensory perception is important, smelling, tasting, hearing, and, of
course, seeing. Environmental education is intelligent, sensitive and
practical. It cannot be reduced to a single sector, it covers a
multitude of disciplines.
Experience of nature has become a rare commodity for children in large
cities. These childrens experience is defined by the media
(televisions, video and computers), while in the living environment of
the city, cars are the most noticeable feature. Children spend more time
indoors than outdoors. Environmental education aims to give children the
opportunity to experience nature, something which may no longer be
possible for them in everyday life. In doing this we confer important
qualifications on them, which will be of significance for their futures.
Environmental education aims to foster solidarity and sense of
responsibility within the community. Collaboration and interplay are
important.
Environmental education has many faces. Some examples following:
Environmental education in the eco-station
The eco-station is an out-of-school education centre. Some 150 classes
and nursery school groups visit the eco-station each year to study in
the so called green classroom. Teachers are invited to choose from a
selection of topics.
The green classroom
One of the topics in the green classroom is for example: the pond. In
small groups, the children observe pond life and examine live pond
animals under the microscope.
Another example: the soil. Taking a handful of soil or compost the
children can watch worms and beetles under a magnifying glass. This way
they learn that the soil is full of living creatures and micro-organisms
and thus constitutes a sensitive environment. Did you know that a
handful of compost contains more organisms than there are people
populating the world?
Children enjoy gardening, contact with the soil and the success of being
able to harvest something. In the bio-garden, children study fruits,
herbs and vegetables. At the end of the visit they are given the
opportunity to pot a plant and take it home.
The herb garden has many aromatic kitchen and medicinal herbs. The
children like to play at smelling games and to learn to recognise a
plant by its smell. The herbs are used to make tea or herbal cream
cheese. Petals and leaves can be used for painting and making pictures.
The childrens creativity is stimulated by the use of natural things,
such as different types of soil, clay, coal, that is, quite basic
materials. Children help earwigs, birds or wild bees nest. This gives
them the opportunity to watch insects from close up and also contributes
to conservation. We also make trips into the nearby forest. The
eco-station has put together an educational trail showing how the forest
can be damaged, so that in a play environment the children get to know
the woodland eco-system.
Each year the Federal Association for Nature and Environmental
Protection organises a competition under the motto Nature Diary. For a
whole year children study closely a particular piece of nature, which
may be a tree, a hedgerow, part of a meadow or a body of water. They
document their observations in a notebook and illustrate them with
pictures and drawings. The best diary is awarded a prize.
We also address the issue of avoiding waste. The children make new paper
from old newspaper. When shopping, the children learn to avoid packaging
by buying fresh local produce, while they buy their drinks in multi-use
bottles. A compost heap teaches them what a natural cycle is, because
nature knows no waste. All dead matter is transformed into something
new, organic waste becomes fertile soil.
Young persons find the subject of solar energy interesting. The children
conduct experiments with different materials, to experience the warming
effect of the sun. Or they build a solar cooker for cooking with. Very
high temperatures can be achieved with a parabolic mirror.
Since the Rio conference in 1992, a new aspect has been added to
environmental education. Around the world, states have pledged
themselves to fostering sustained and forward-looking global
development. It is important for children to learn the global effects of
our behaviour, how many natural reserves and resources we exploit to
maintain our level of consumption. It is our duty together to find
viable solutions for the future.
Environmental education in schools
20 years ago, a first recommendation was put forward by the Conference
of Ministers of Education of the Lnder that environmental education
should be included in the school curriculum. Environmental education is
not an independent subject, but a multi-disciplinary concept, which
teachers implement by mutual agreement. The curriculum contains
interdisciplinary subjects which are binding for every grade, e.g. in
Grade 5 the subject is Children explore their environment. Biology,
Geography, Divinity and German teachers, for instance, must within a set
time frame include this topic in their instruction. In grammar school
grade 11, the subject is Protecting the Earths Atmosphere.
To a certain extent teachers are allowed to arrange lessons flexibly,
they may make their own decisions and take the children on an outing
into the woods, for instance, or visit the eco-station. Once a year,
each school organises a project week, during which the children are
given a choice of different activities: amateur dramatics, sports or
outdoor adventure activities, environmental projects, art.
Schools create their own profile through their own activities. Backed by
teachers, parents and pupils many schools have redesigned their
playgrounds, laid out a pond or installed solar panels on the roof of
the school building. There is a waste-free primary school in Freiburg,
at which everybody, pupils and staff, take care to ensure that no waste
is created. Many schools also conduct an eco-audit.
Energy and climate friendly schools have existed for about 7 years. By
working together teachers, pupils and janitors help to reduce power,
heating and water consumption. This way, costs can be cut by up to 30%.
And certain types of investment, for instance in solar panels, creates
an even greater savings potential.
Local and provincial governments support this commitment, by giving back
to schools half or as much as 2/3 of the savings made. The City is happy
too, because money has been saved. This is an example of the new
approach in environmental education, in which pupils not only acquire
knowledge of the environment, but themselves seek solutions, either
individually or in teamwork, whereby their efforts have economic
significance. These are important qualifications for sustained
development.
There are many examples of ecological education in schools. Teachers
have the necessary scope for action, what is achieved depends solely on
their commitment.
Nursery schools
There is a trend in nursery schools toward giving children the
opportunity to experience nature more closely. We have woodland nursery
schools, where the children spend all day outdoors in the wood; instead
of playing with manufactured toys, these children play in hideouts and
on climbing frames surrounded by nature. The eco-station offers seminars
for nursery school teachers and supports nursery schools wishing to
redesign their outdoor play areas with specialised gardening guidance.
Adults
Not only teachers come to us. Our courses and seminars also address the
general public. Interested citizens, leisure gardeners and parents
accompanied by their children visit the centre. An exchange of views
takes place here, meetings are held and advice is given. Citizens are
invited to work together with us on an voluntary basis, for example in
looking after the garden. We want to encourage people to become active
themselves, to lay out a garden or start a compost heap, and, together
with neighbourhood children, to protect nature.
The significance of environmental centres
The eco-station is one of many environmental centres in Germany, all of
which are very different. Some consist of an ecological building with
natural gardens, some are simple offices, while others are information
centres in conservation areas. Some centres are run by non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), there are state-run nature conservation academies
and school biology centres run by individual school authorities. There
are more than 400 such institutions in Germany which are cross-linked by
an umbrella organisation. Those run by non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) are understaffed and do not receive sufficient state funding.
The centres are extremely important for environmental education. They
address a large target group, they are widely accepted by the population
because they serve as a contact point for everyday problems and address
current issues. Their work is increasingly professional.
The eco-station co-operates with other institutions. Co-operation and
cross-linking are important concerns. The station wishes to encourage
people to protect nature and the environment and to disseminate new
ideas. Here a variety of different groups - children, adults, citizens,
teachers and pupils, can all meet in order to create an
environmentally-sustainable future
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