Self-sufficient into the future

BMVIT

VS Bad Großpertholz

VS Großschönau

VS Weitra

NMS Bad Großpertholz

NMS Weitra

The Climate and Energy Model Region Lainsitztal, through its project “Self-Sufficiency by the Day After Tomorrow – We Kids Are Starting Today!”, went beyond its existing efforts to involve regional schools and, during the summer semester of 2013, intensively addressed the topic of energy in regional elementary and middle schools.

The top priority was to generate enthusiasm among students for climate and environmental protection by teaching them, in an age-appropriate manner, about the necessity of energy conservation and resource preservation. The detailed energy data analysis in the Lainsitztal Climate and Energy Model Region (KEM) has impressively demonstrated that the population is unaware of their own “energy footprint” and that changes toward conservation only become possible after raising awareness of their own consumption.

An essential component of each subproject was therefore two measures inextricably linked to the goals of the Climate and Energy Model Region Lainsitztal:

1. Each participating student used the purchased electricity meters to measure energy consumption. By taking these measurements themselves, the children gained an understanding of how much electricity various devices require just to function.
2. During the project, each participating class or school visited the new energy experience exhibition SONNENWELT in Großschönau. In a playful and engaging way, the children discovered where energy comes from, how energy consumption has risen at an ever-increasing rate throughout human history, and the necessity of a turnaround due to the increasingly dramatic developments regarding the climate and the environment.

The subprojects carried out all addressed the following key points: 

• Conducting energy accounting together with students,
• collecting data on electrical appliances and 
• developing energy-saving improvements as well as analyzing potential savings.

Through the project “Self-Sufficiency by the Day After Tomorrow—We Kids Are Starting Today!”, the students’ energy literacy was enhanced, thereby raising energy and climate awareness among students, parents, and teachers.

https://www.kem-lainsitztal.at/klimaschulen-pilot-projekt-2013-14/ (in German)