Children and young people shape their future

The winners of this year's Environmental Award have been announced. Unfortunately, the award ceremony had to be cancelled again due to the current coronavirus situation. Nevertheless, the winners were chosen as usual. All participants were honoured and presented with gifts.

In total, more than 400 children and young people were involved in 16 projects to actively protect the environment and have acquired a great deal of knowledge about environmentally friendly behaviour.

Early childhood education in day-care centres increasingly goes hand in hand with environmental protection topics. This year, too, topical and easy-to-understand subjects played a major role. Two prize winners in this age group deserve special mention.
The protection of endangered species such as bees and the exploration of animals of all kinds in the garden were the focus of the "Groß & Klein" daycare centre and the "Morgensonne" Waldorf kindergarten.
By a very small margin, "Groß & Klein" won 1st prize and "Morgensonne" 2nd prize in this age group.

Among the primary schools in the city of Chemnitz, the "Kappelino" day nursery took care of the school garden with a very wide range of measures. With flower meadow strips, the creation of flower beds, the construction of an insect hotel and the cultivation of edible plants such as potatoes, pumpkins and herbs etc., the after-school care centre won 1st prize.
The 2nd prize went to the Charles Darwin Primary School with its project for an applicant book. The topics covered include waste separation, energy saving and microplastics in the oceans.
The Chemnitz school model involved 198 pupils in the project "Das kleine Müllspektakel" (The little rubbish spectacle) and won 3rd place.

Hanna Schmieder and Alfred Sontag from Johannes-Kepler-Gymnasium presented their brochure and an educational video on the identification of plants, some of which are little known, as a guide to action and a systematic catalogue of important plants, earning them first prize in the age group 5 to 8.
Maxim Hennig, Konstantin Meisch and Maximilian Wandelt came in a close second with their solar-powered power bank. By using solar energy, they are making a contribution to climate protection. The solaris Förderzentrum für Jugend und Umwelt gGmbH Sachsen is regularly represented with innovative projects at the City of Chemnitz Environmental Award.
The 3rd prize went to the participants from the Terra Nova Campus - the discovery school. With their project "Shaping the future", they are involved in nature conservation work, take care of ecological horticulture and deal with the topic of sustainability once a week.

The students from the vocational school at the BBW in Chemnitz of the SFZ Chemnitz gGbmH demonstrated the skills they have acquired in their vocational training in gardening and landscaping and were awarded first prize in the age category of classes 9 to 20. They designed their schoolyard "From pavement to flowering meadow" by making areas in need of renovation more natural.
Thurid Sontag won 2nd prize with her research on the "Influence of laundry detergent on plant growth". She came to the conclusion that more environmentally friendly detergents have less of a detrimental effect on plant growth. In her concluding outlook, she opens up options for further research.
Johann Richard Otto deals with a very topical subject. He compares particulate matter pollution at roundabouts and at conventional road junctions. In doing so, he establishes which type of road traffic is more environmentally friendly. Johann Richard's achievement earned him 3rd place.

The organisers are particularly pleased that so many participants take part repeatedly and show that protecting the environment is part of their everyday lives. Due to the large number of projects submitted, it was once again difficult for the jury to make a decision. All the projects were created with a great deal of commitment and hard work.

The winners will receive 300 euros in prize money for 1st place, 200 euros for 2nd place and 150 euros for 3rd place. In addition, all participants will receive certificates confirming their place and participation.

All participants and prize winners deserve recognition for their outstanding achievements. The city's environmental department would like to thank everyone for their commitment and achievements and hopes that there will be plenty of participation again next year.

Every year, the City of Chemnitz, with the support of its partners eins energie in sachsen GmbH and Südsachsen Wasser GmbH, honours the best ideas and projects by children and young people for active and sustainable environmental protection and successful environmental education with the Chemnitz Environmental Award. The award recognises projects that require intensive engagement with environmental protection and active action and are designed to be sustainable.

Information on the Environmental Award 2022: www.chemnitz.de/umweltpreis