On Friday 26 June at 10.00 am, the Terra Nova Campus – The Explorers’ School will be formally presented with the 2026 Environment Award for Children and Young People, organised by the City of Chemnitz’s Environment Agency, in several categories.
Jirka Meyer, Head of the Chemnitz City Education Authority, and Dina Norberger, Chemnitz City Children and Young People’s Commissioner, will pay tribute to the school’s commitment. The award ceremony will take place at the Terra Nova Campus – The Discovery School, Heinrich-Schütz-Straße 61.
Media representatives are warmly invited.
This year, the Terra Nova Campus took first place in both the Years 5 to 8 category and the Years 9 to 12 and young people up to the age of 20 category.
The projects ‘Water is Life!’ and ‘Pupils Take Action’ will be honoured. In addition, the Terra Nova Campus came third in the primary school category with the project ‘Our Deadwood Pile’.
In total, more than 500 children and young people took part in this year’s Chemnitz Environment Prize with 27 projects. Of these, four projects were in the ‘Day-care Centre’ category, 14 in the ‘Primary School’ category, five in the ‘Years 5 to 8’ category and four in the ‘Years 9 to 12 and Young People up to 20’ category.
The entries submitted demonstrate the diverse ways in which children and young people address environmental, nature and climate protection issues in their everyday lives and put them into practice.
The projects focused, amongst other things, on waste prevention, waste separation, upcycling, recycling and keeping public spaces clean. Several groups collected litter on their way to school, in their neighbourhood, in the woods or around their schools, thereby highlighting the impact that thoughtlessly discarded litter has on nature and quality of life.
Other entries focused on the protection of bees, insects and birds, as well as the creation of flower beds, insect hotels, deadwood piles, raised beds and composting facilities. Other topics covered included water, sustainable nutrition, energy consumption, fast fashion, digital education, electronics recycling and sustainable period products as an alternative to single-use items.
From the projects submitted, the jury selected the top three entries in the categories of nursery schools, primary schools (Years 5 to 8), secondary schools (Years 9 to 12) and young people up to the age of 20. In the final weeks before the summer holidays, the winning institutions will be honoured for their commitment.
Carina Kühnel, Head of the Environment Department at Chemnitz City Council: “Environmental protection is important for all of us and for the future of our children and young people. A healthy environment means clean air, pure drinking water, safe habitats for animals and plants, and fewer health risks from noise and pollutants. For young people, a healthy environment has a direct impact on their well-being, their learning and their development. The Chemnitz Environmental Award is a fantastic tool that enables our children and young people to take environmental protection projects into their own hands.”
The following entries secured one of the top three places:
Category: Childcare Centre
| Place | Centre | Project | Brief description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place | Reichenhain Wichtelberg Nursery | Art and Sustainability | The children explored recycled and natural materials in a creative way. |
| 2nd place | “Am Feldschlößchen” Nursery | A Heart for Urban Nature | The children explored urban nature around their nursery and created flower beds, raised beds and nesting sites. |
| 3rd place | Kindertreffpunkt Nursery | Our nursery is becoming a habitat for animals and insects | This year-round project creates natural habitats in the nursery’s outdoor area. |
Primary School Category
| Rank | Facility | Project | Brief description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place | Valentina Tereshkova Primary School | Project week on education for sustainable development | The school organised a project week featuring a variety of workshops, including litter in the natural environment, upcycling, nutrition and climate. |
| 2nd place | Leonardo Independent Primary School | Sustainability Project Week | The children worked in mixed-age groups on waste prevention, saving energy and water, upcycling and the sustainable use of materials. They explored the urban natural environment around their nursery and created flower beds, raised beds and nesting sites. |
| 3rd place | Terra Nova Campus – The Discovery School | Our Deadwood Pile | The children explored the importance of deadwood and rebuilt a collapsed deadwood pile. |
Category: Years 5 to 8
| Place | School | Project | Brief description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place | Terra Nova Campus – The School of Discovery | Water is life! | The children explored the importance of water for people, animals and plants. |
| 2nd place | Chemnitz Partnership School | C the green | The pupils combined their knowledge of waste, recycling and environmental protection with practical litter-picking activities. |
| 3rd place | DPFA Rainbow Secondary School and Grammar School | Sustainability, Waste and Environmental Protection | The pupils explored marine pollution, endangered species, upcycling and waste prevention. |
Category: Years 9 to 12 and young people up to the age of 20
| Place | Institution | Project | Brief description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place | Terra Nova Campus – The Discovery School | Pupils get involved | The optional course: clothing car boot sales, litter-picking campaigns and environmental education programmes for the school community. |
| 2nd place | Bethanien Education Centre | Insect hotel with a flowering meadow | The trainees transformed a previously unused area on the school grounds into a wildflower meadow with an insect hotel. |
| 3rd place | DPFA Rainbow Secondary School and Grammar School | Sustainability, Waste and Environmental Protection | The pupils explored fast fashion, composting, renewable energy and upcycling, and collected litter around the school grounds. |
Further information on the Environment Award: www.chemnitz.de/umweltpreis