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The competing teams have submitted projects that identify innovative ways for schools and individuals to optimise their energy use and reduce their carbon footprint. Projects currently being implemented include a special class to train a climate patrol team, and at another school, a project to generate energy from the movement of children in the playground.
Over 80 schools entered the competition. The 29 finalists were selected by national juries in each country. The national juries will meet again in the summer to select the winning school for their country.
Each of the six national winners will then compete for the title of European Champion. The “best of the best” school will be selected in autumn by a European jury consisting of representatives from the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), the Toyota Fund for Europe (TFfE), the European Commission, United Nations Environmental Programme, the British Council and other European environmental organisations. The jury will be looking for a project that is innovative and provides an effective way to save energy.
Eco-Schools is a programme of FEE. The Environment and Innovation Project was established jointly by the FEE Eco-Schools programme and TFfE with funding from TFfE. The first cycle of the Environment and Innovation Projects ran from 2005 to 2007 and covered the theme of Sustainable Mobility. The Toyota Fund for Europe (TFfE) has provided financial assistance to the Environment and Innovation Project since the first cycle. In this second cycle, over €100,000 has been granted to the 28 competing schools.
More Information
For more information, please visit http://www.toyotafund.eu/our_projects/environment/ecoschool.aspx, or
the Eco-Schools programme website:www.eco-schools.org/innovation2008/index.php
