FIEGE awards Environmental Prize to elementary schools in the Münsterland region
Once again, the FIEGE family business has awarded its Environmental Prize to elementary schools based in Münster and Greven. The prize, which the company’s very foundation, the Josef Fiege Stiftung, called to life in 2022, honours pupils who campaign for sustainability and environmental protection together with their teachers.
Wanted, and found: small climate action heroes. The logistics company FIEGE has awarded its Environmental Prize for the fourth time to elementary schools in the Münsterland region. The award addresses schools which, through special initiatives, promote environmental commitment and sustainability awareness amongst their pupils. The first prize which comes with 1,000 euros in prize money, went to Davert School in Münster-Amelsbüren for its all-season garden calendar. The second spot with 500 euros in prize money went to Grundschule am Kinderbach, an elementary school in Münster-Kinderhaus, for its wilderness project. The third spot was shared by St. Josef Catholic Elementary School (for creating a recipe book) and Martin-Luther Elementary School (for growing a butterfly-friendly meadow) in Greven, each winning 250 euros. Next to the prize money, all four schools were also granted a visit to the MExLab ExperiMINTe which the Josef Fiege Stiftung regularly partners with.
“Every year, I am newly impressed about just how diverse and profound children’s interest in topics like climate change, the protection of nature, flora and fauna as well as environmental responsibility already is at such a young age. As adults, we can definitely learn from their enthusiasm”, says Frank Sievers who, together with Martina Schlottbom, Kai Alfermann and Christoph Mangelmans, forms the Executive Committee of the Josef Fiege Stiftung. “We hope that our Environmental Prize contributes to adequately showing appreciation for the impressive commitment of the pupils and their teachers. We wish for them to find many copycats who are just as dedicated to our environment.”
“The year’s clock never stands still”: the pupils of Davert School in Münster-Amelsbühren created an all-season garden calendar, making them the winner of this year’s FIEGE Environmental Prize. (Photo: FIEGE)
Shaking trees: the pupils from the wilderness project of Grundschule am Kinderbach in Münster-Kinderhaus were thrilled about coming second for the FIEGE Environmental Prize. (Photo: FIEGE)
Michelin star hopefuls: the St. Josef Catholic Elementary School in Greven and their Climate Dishes from the Josef Kids recipe book secured the third spot in the FIEGE Environmental Prize. (Photo: FIEGE)
Metamorphosis for the win: the first graders at Martin-Luther Elementary School in Greven examined the transition of caterpillars into butterflies with their biodiversity project and went on to share the third spot of the FIEGE Environmental Prize. (Photo: FIEGE)
Over 50 elementary schools in the Münsterland could apply for the Environmental Prize last year. Davert School in Münster-Amelsbüren and their all-season calendar stood out especially. The project brought nature, the seasons and gardening closer to the pupils. The children designed an all-season garden calendar, created a calendar series to be filed, and cooked using fruits and vegetables harvested from the garden. Tatjana Salienko, who brought the project to life together with Victoria Haubrich, recalls: “It was our aim to show to the children how nature changes over the course of the year, the connection there is between the seasons, the weather and a plant’s growth phase and which plants need to be sewed, cared for and harvested at what point in time.” This not only helped the pupils to develop an awareness of the annual cycle, but also to familiarise themselves with nature and the habitat it presents to plants and animals. “We are extremely pleased about the award from the Josef Fiege Stiftung. The prize money will help us to continue rolling out special projects like these at our school.”
Grundschule am Kinderbach in Münster-Kinderhaus came second with their wilderness project. Guided by certified wilderness educators, the grade four students spend a morning in the forest once a month. Harald Holtwick, Head of Grundschule am Kinderbach, says: “This is how the pupils learn about native animal species and varieties of plants, observe the nature surrounding them and train their tracking skills.” Adventure games, singing together and reading stories are also on the agenda. “We want the children to be able to relate to nature, in order to promote mindful actions on their part. And we are extremely pleased that we were also able to convince the jury of the Josef Fiege Stiftung with this.”
The third place was shared, one winner being the St. Josef Catholic Elementary School from Greven, whose pupils spent their project intensely exploring the connection between climate action and food. Anja Brockfeld, class teacher for class 4c, explains: “We thought of climate-friendly dishes and cooked and tried these together at school. For this, every class came up with their own area of focus. The outcome of our project is the Climate Dish of the Josef Kids, an eclectic book of recipes that contains all the recipes that were tested.” The second winner of the third prize was Greven-based Martin-Luther Elementary School. Here, first-graders took a closer look at how caterpillars evolved into butterflies during a biodiversity project and grew a butterfly-friendly meadow on the school’s premises. Class teacher Barbara Schulze-Mastrup says: “With our project, we sensitised the children about how important it is to maintain habitats and to protect biodiversity for our planet. We hope that the practical experience with nature will encourage greater awareness about our environment amongst our pupils.”
