On March 28, 2018 the final event in the framework of the Project for climate protection through improved behavior of energy users in European schools, implemented by the National Trust EcoFund in partnership with the Independent Institute for Environment in Berlin (UfU) and Environ NGO in Bucarest with the financial support of the Federal Ministry of the Environment environment, nature conservation, construction and nuclear safety (BMUB).
Mrs. Irena Georgieva, Chairman of the Board of NTEF, Mrs. Boryana Kamenova Director of the Climate Change Policy Directorate, Mrs. Lilyana Drumeva, Advisor to the Minister of Education and Science, Ms. Anja Krechting from the Federal Ministry of Environment of Germany , the mayors of Lyulin district in Sofia Milko Mladenov and of the municipality of Samokov Vladimir Georgiev participated in the opening ceremony of the conference.
The project partners from the Independent Environmental Institute in Berlin and the Romanian non-governmental organization Environ, directors, teachers and pupils from the four schools implementing the project – two from Samokov and two from Lyulin district in Sofia, lecturers at Sofia University participating in the programs of the National Training Center for Pedagogical Specialists, representatives of several other schools that NTEF has funded to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings all took part in the event.
The aim of the conference was to present the experience of the participating schools and to outline the prospects for implementing this initiative in more Bulgarian schools. In this sense, the conference was not conclusive, but it makes sense to launch a broad initiative to use the experience of these several pilot activities and apply it to all schools that receive funding to improve their buildings’ energy efficiency.
The students showed how they measure the temperature and level of lighting in their schools, how they check the windows, doors and radiators and how they share knowledge with their classmates and teachers. They showed how much energy was saved as a result of the activity by the specially formed energy teams.
The National Trust Eco Fund will launch its next initiative with the support of the German Ministry of the Environment, this time in partnership with six countries in Europe and ten new schools in Bulgaria in May. For the next stages and the wider application of the approaches towards improving the behavior of children in schools – further partners that will be involved are university lecturers from the team of the National Center for Improvement of the Qualifications of the Pedagogical Professionals, which has the ambition to establish their permanent program for qualification of the teachers from the whole country on subjects on climate and energy.
