Cologne's children are active for the environment: Umwelttaler 2025 honors sustainable projects!

Cologne's children are active for the environment: Umwelttaler 2025 honors sustainable projects!

On today's Environment Day, a very special symbol for sustainability is being set in Cologne. The Catholic Youth Agency Cologne gGmbH (KJA Cologne) awarded the coveted internal “Umwelttaler” award for the second time. Over 100 locations in Cologne and the Rhein-Erft district were invited to take part and present their projects to promote climate and environmental protection. The ambition with which the young people present their ideas here is remarkable and shows that awareness of environmental issues is already anchored in the youngest generations.

What particularly catches the eye is the “Hallway Check” project, which was initiated by students from the children’s parliament at KGS Horststrasse in Cologne Mülheim. The idea behind it is to use reusable checklists to control cleanliness in hallways and cloakrooms and to promote order in a playful way. The presentation by Luan, Nina and Johanna, who even presented a prototype with a washable template, was very well received. As part of the competition, part of the prize money will go towards creating additional hallway check templates, while the rest will be used for ice cream for everyone - that's what makes children's hearts smile!

Commitment to a greener future

In another impressive project, the Paul Krämer Special School for Intellectual Development is planning to build a school garden that will not only serve to impart knowledge, but also promote cross-generational collaboration. This is about more than just planting flowers: with prize money of 500 euros, the garden will be expanded and equipped with the necessary equipment as well as soil and plants. These approaches show how important it is to involve young people in shaping their environment and to let them take responsibility.

Dr. Annette Boms, a jury member at Umwelttaler, praised the groups' creative ideas and active participation. Bernd Rustemeyer, Managing Director of KJA Cologne, emphasized the social responsibility that is necessary to enable future generations to have a future worth living. This message is in line with the ideas of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), as propagated by the organization Greenpeace and the Federal Environment Agency. They emphasize that young people must not be left alone with responsibility for their future and that sustainable and peaceful coexistence is a shared responsibility.

On the way to sustainability

Education for sustainable development aims to promote sustainable thinking and action and helps to understand the impact of one's own actions on the environment. “Teaching sustainability is more than just imparting knowledge,” emphasize the experts. Children and young people should be able to actively participate in social and environmental processes - this is the only way to create solutions that are up to the challenges of our time. An alliance of various organizations is committed to ensuring that education for sustainable development is anchored in schools and political guidelines. Efforts to promote sustainable education are therefore more important than ever.

Next year, the groups can look forward to the award again when two environmental thalers will be awarded again. The motivation that children and young people show is a valuable investment in a greener future for both KJA Cologne and society.

For further details about the projects, we recommend taking a look at the website lindweiler.de, greenpeace.de and Umweltbundesamt.de.