Little climate protectors on the move

"Be the change you want to see in the world," sang the fourth-grade students at student on the final day of Climate Protection Week at DISD. The environmental protection project week kicked off five days earlier on October 2. It also marked the start of the Climate Protection Footprints collection campaign organized by the CLIMATE ALLIANCE network. It is the largest European city network dedicated to climate protection.

Every year since 2002, KLIMA BÜNDNIS has invited all kindergartens and schools to take part in the Environmental Action Weeks, collect Climate Protection Footprints and embark on a symbolic journey around the world. Work materials and templates for a playful approach to the topic are available online.

Science teacher Regina Jeckl realized the world tour with the fourth grade. Divided into groups, the children explored the 15 stations and created informative posters. On the last day of the project week, all of the 350 or so primary school pupils were able to actively participate in the trip around the world. At the various stations, they learned what measures individual countries are taking to protect the climate. These included the Netherlands, which is threatened by rising sea levels. With floating settlements that move up and down on the water with the tides, they are working with the water instead of against it. Another destination is Peru in South America. For the indigenous population, electricity is a luxury. In the interests of climate protection, mobile LED solar lamps are therefore used in the Amazon region instead of kerosene lamps.

The fourth-graders presented the song "Nur eine Welt" (Only one world) by Ines Omenzetter, selected and rehearsed by music teacher Valentyna Halushko. The song conveys an important message: "We only have one sun, one moon, one earth on which we all live. Perhaps only one chance to end this madness, the future is in our hands.

Children wrote down their environmental wishes on symbolic "green footprints" made of cardboard. "Switch off the lights in Dubai at night!", "Stop so much ship and boat traffic on the seas! Protect the oceans!" and "Dear politicians, we should plant more trees!", "Reduce plastic products!" could be read there.

The children were enthusiastic about the special campaign to collect Climate Protection Miles. DISD adapted the collection from Germany to the conditions in Dubai. The children were able to collect blue miles for energy saving and recycling, green miles for environmentally friendly mobility (e.g. bus use or carpooling) and a yellow dot for the consumption of climate-friendly, locally produced food through environmentally conscious behavior. Each dot, painted in the corresponding color, counted as a mile. Year 1 pupil Sophia explains while coloring in a yellow dot: "I learned that fruit and vegetables from Dubai are also very tasty." Interestingly, the young climate protectors from Year 2 onwards even dispensed with paper and colored their collection booklets digitally on tablets.

A lot of reading, explaining, painting and crafting was done in the kindergarten on the topic of climate protection. The teachers also called on all parents to take part in a recycling project in which drinks cartons were collected and rebuilt into an impressive Burj Khalifa in the kindergarten foyer. This now reminds the children and parents every day of the importance of being environmentally conscious. Julia Badrakhan, deputy head of the kindergarten, emphasizes: "By participating in the project, we have developed an understanding among the children of the importance of environmentally conscious behaviour. Even the youngest children expressed their environmental wishes for a better world by drawing them on flags and sticking them in the finished tower.

Around 600 children from kindergarten to year 6 took part in the campaign and collected 19,077 Footprints for the global climate. The collected Footprints were presented to the politicians at COP 28 on December 5 by student*innen der vierten Klassen. DISD continues to actively campaign for a more sustainable world, with the support of committed student students, teachers and parents.