Stuttgart's Hegel-Gymnasium took 3rd place in our #jetztklimachen award with a very exciting project: The high school's environmental spokespersons used the "Actionbound" app to create an interactive scavenger hunt on energy saving and climate protection at their school. In addition to general principles of climate change, the aim is to learn about the school's specific energy-saving potential and motivate pupils to save energy.

We asked the environmental spokespersons at Hegel for an interview with the winners, which Alexander Morgenstern arranged for us. Thanks for that! And here we go:

What was your first reaction when you heard about the award?

Environmental spokespersons for the Hegel: We were delighted that we were able to beat so many competitors with our idea. Of course, we can also use the prize money of 1,000 euros for other climate protection projects.

How would you briefly introduce the "Climate protection and energy saving at Hegel" Bound to people who don't know you yet?

We environmental spokespeople have used the Actionbound app to configure our "Climate protection and energy saving at Hegel" Bound. This is a kind of digital scavenger hunt and guides our classmates through our school using QR codes, where they work on tasks relating to energy saving and climate protection. Classes can complete this Bound within one or two lessons and compete with each other for points.

Can your project be transferred to other schools? Is there a contact person?

The project can definitely be transferred to other schools. We largely configured the app in groups on a project day and tested it straight away. After the project day, each group made changes to the app within an hour. The whole thing was then put together by our teacher Mr. Morgenstern, who finally tested the app again with two classes. It took three months from conception to completion. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Morgenstern (a.morgenstern@hegelgymnasium.de).

Climate protection, sustainability and school - how present are these topics in your everyday teaching?

These topics are dealt with from time to time in various subjects (geography, science, chemistry, physics, religion/ethics, etc.). At our school, however, there are also many opportunities to get involved in these topics outside of the classroom. We have a climate, repair and gardening club. In addition, pupils in year 8 can take part in the environmental mentoring program run by the Baden-Württemberg Youth Foundation. Our environmental spokesperson system for all classes and courses is particularly important. At the beginning of each school year, two class environmental spokespersons are elected per class. We then carry out two climate protection or environmental protection projects per school year, such as the "Climate protection and energy saving at Hegel" bound.

Thank you for the interview!

By the way: the city of Stuttgart provides an overview of all award winners here: https://jetztklimachen.stuttgart.de/jetztklimachen-preis

You can find more information about Hegel-Gymnasium, which is located in the Vaihingen district of Stuttgart, on the school's website. Around 780 pupils currently attend the school, which is taught by around 70 teachers.