Recertification as an Environmental School: Steinmühle even excels in the “supreme discipline”

Steinmühle began 2023 as a recertified “Hessian Environmental School.” The award was presented jointly by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Education “for a school’s exceptional commitment to environmental education and education for sustainable development.”

During a festive ceremony, Angelika Schichtel from the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection and Silke Bell (State Coordinator for Hessian Environmental Schools and Specialist Advisor on Education for Sustainable Development at the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs) presented the award to Steinmühle. This was reported by Carmen Bastian, the environmental officer at Steinmühle.

“Eco-School”—What Is This Award For?

The “Environmental School—Learning and Acting for Our Future” award recognizes a school’s exceptional commitment to environmental and ecological education. With this award, the two ministries honor improvements in the quality of instruction and school life in line with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

The fact that this is precisely the direction in which Steinmühle is currently focusing its efforts made the application for recertification a perfect fit.

In Action Area I—the sustainable redesign of the school grounds—measures related to nature conservation and the promotion of biodiversity were highlighted. These included the maintenance and expansion of the orchard meadow—we have already reported on this several times in our Steinmühlen media.

AG School for Earth as the “supreme discipline”

In Action Area II—the implementation of the concept “Education for Sustainable Development in Everyday School Life”—the application highlighted the founding of the “School for Earth” working group, led by Steinmühlen teacher Ines Vielhaben. This impressed the certifying officials, who, upon presenting the certificate, described this activity as a “pioneering flagship initiative” and wished the school much success in its continued implementation. In its yearbook, the school once again explicitly highlighted the spirit of optimism at Steinmühle and noted that the work of the “School for Earth” student group had led to a clear mandate to focus even more explicitly on ecology and sustainability. The focus is on the prioritized areas of nutrition, heating energy, electricity, waste management/cleaning, and mobility.

In this context, Steinmühle will be launching several additional initiatives in the near future. There are already numerous projects that have been implemented in the areas mentioned. The school garden, a water dispenser, the mobile chicken coop, sustainable building technology, energy-efficient renovations, solar and hydroelectric power, and participation in the “Schulradeln” competition are just a few examples.