An exciting event: On the 23 of September the Danish Eco-School programme held its 10 years jubilee with the participation of the Danish Minister of Education. 100 children and adults, green flags, children in green T-shirts, songs, music, cheers and a minister of education. Those were some of the ingredients in the event.
   
Eco-Schools – a contribution to schools and community: The event took place at the school Langbjergskolen in the suburb of Copenhagen. Langbjergskolen has received the green flag for the first time for the theme “Nature”. The ES programme has made many differences for the school. The headmaster Marianne Blum explained what the ES programme means to the school. Students, teachers and the technical staff are committed to the environmental work at the school, and the community respects their initiative. The waste-collection system has been re-structured and the school has saved a lot of paper. In connection to the nature theme the school has established a butterfly garden, a fruit garden and organic vegetable garden. Marianne Blum found that the ES programme had given the pupils much knowledge and has strengthened their interest for science education as well, and concluded that the ES programme in many ways had contributed a lot to the school in many ways.
   
All school should have an eco-school committee: Thorbjørn Bredkjær was the next speaker. He is 17 years old and a former stu-dent at one of the Danish eco-schools – Kirke-Saaby Skole. Two years ago he represented his school in the youth parliament – an event in the Danish parliament where 179 youth acted as politicians for one day. All schools in Denmark were invited to send in proposals for the youth parliament. Of the 1100 proposals that were sent in, 60 were selected for the day and the students passed five of the proposals. Thorbjørn and his class formulated one of the five. They proposed that every school in Denmark should have an eco-school committee, argued for the idea and handed the proposal over to the minister and hoped that the minister would use this proposal in the real parliament. Thorbjørn ended by giving three cheers for the Eco-School secretariat, which had supported the schools very well. “Eco-Schools is about education for sustainability” - stated the deputy chairman for the Danish Outdoor Council, Kirsten Nielsen. Kirsten Nielsen stressed that the programme was a Danish invention. The programme has developed into an international programme with 12.000 schools in 30 countries. In Denmark approximately 10 % of the schools (210 schools) are participating in the Eco-School network and last year 60 schools were awarded with the green flag. Approximately 13.000 pupils have participated in the programme in 2004. Kirsten Nielsen emphasized that studies have pointed out that the ES programme contributes to the pupils knowledge and skills regarding environ-mental questions, and also strengthens the belief that we as individuals and together can make a difference for a better world.
   
In connection to the UN decade for education for sustainable development, Kirsten Nielsen expressed two wishes to the minister emphasizing that support to school’s work with education for sustainable development is very important. First of all the minister should clarify for the schools that education for sustainable development is an important perspective in all teaching. Secondly the ministry of education and the ministry of environment should support education for sustain-able development in the school. Ulla Tørnæs, Minister of Education, praised the ES programme: The minister of education, Ulla Tørnæs, talked about the ES programme in a very positive way. “It’s a programme with very fine educational materials for developing many competences – science, fantasy and the ability to participate in society and act as responsible citizens.” Ulla Tørnæs stressed that the ES programme strengthened the student’s interest for science, which is very much in line with the government’s politics. The minister recognised the Eco-school project as an international project. The minister was pleased to know that Denmark rather than exporting environmental problems was known as an exporter of environmental education. Ulla Tørnæs wished the project good luck with establishing eco-school commit-tees and congratulated the eco-schools with the jubilee.
   
Eco-code poster competition, music, song - and the environmental patrol: After the speeches the minister presented the prizes for the best Danish posters in the eco-code poster competition. Pupils from Horbelev School and Nygård School received their prizes – an action-day with a nature interpreter who has access to various outdoor gears (canoes, climbing gear etc.). Students from two schools – the environmental patrol - demonstrated how pupils could make a difference. The day before the jubilee the students investigated the environment at a school – how they used water, energy, waste and how the school contributed to the nature around the school. The environmental patrol came up with many proposals on how the school could contribute to a better environment. It was a very good demonstration of possibilities in the ES programme. Pupils performed a musical called “The rubbish Dump”. They were dressed as cats, rats and gulls. Many more green songs were presented for a good ending to an exiting day.

(November 2004)

   
Thirteen to fifteen-year-olds are now given the opportunity to decide for themselves, which of the many chemicals they meet in their everyday lives are "cool" or crappy. What is in my deodorant, T-shirt or lipstick? And what does it matter to me? These are some of the questions that the Danish Ministry of the Environment challenge students and teachers to find answers to in a new set of interactive teaching materials for physics, chemistry and social studies. Chemical Days takes 13-15 year-olds on a chemical tour of a teenager’s room. During the tour they are asked to consider the choices they make each day, when they use their mobile phone, read a magazine, do their hair, or put on a pair of trousers.
   
"The teaching material pinpoints the ongoing debate about hazardous substances we come into contact with in our everyday life. And it is extremely important to involve the youth in this debate, since they are already out there as consumers. They must be able to take a personal stand and in order to do this they must be able to distinguish between necessary and unnecessary chemicals. It is not my place to give them specific answers, but what I would like is that the students find - through assignments and discussion - their own standpoint and opinions", says Danish Minister for the Environment, Hans Christian Schmidt. Chemical Days has been developed in close cooperation with teachers of 13 to 15-year-olds.
   
Fifteen-year-old students in a Danish school have tested the material together with their teachers. After the test the class teacher said: "Chemical Days is a good introduction to a subject that is otherwise difficult and uninteresting for students. I saw that the students were very enthusiastic and involved because the Chemical Days material is based on their own interests and concerns."
   
The teaching materials are available in both Danish and English versions and are therefore suitable for inter-disciplinary teaching, involving, for example, physics, chemistry, social studies and English. Chemical Days is free and ready to use in schools from 27 September - either directly onscreen or as a printout. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has developed the teaching materials and will present the website at the Danish Science Festival 2002 on 27 September.
   
Chemical days is available on: www.chemicaldays.dk
   
For more information see www.mst.dk/chemi/01090000.htm
   
For further information please contact:
Section Leader Lea Frimann Hansen, Tel.: +45 32 66 0546,
or Shima Dobel, M.Sc., Tel.: +45 32 66 8924, chemicaldays@mst.dk

(October 2002)

Eco-Schools in Denmark...

   
In Denmark the first schools were awarded in 1994. Since then the number of schools which have joined the programme have steadily risen so that today 165 schools are awarded. The schools are working with the three basic themes and a supplementary one: Nature. To allow the pupils to take in all the background information of these resources and deepen in each one of them, the schools work with one theme at a time and receive “The Green Flag” award for every theme they implement.
   
All the awarded Schools have fulfilled both the international criteria and those which are specially linked to the Danish campaign:
* they have established environmental committees consisting of pupils, teachers, caretakers and managers;
* the children have investigated the use of resources around the school and visited power stations, companies etc. outside the school;
* they have made action plans and saving campaigns and reduced their use of water, energy and paper;
* they have been debating with local authorities and experts;
* they have informed the surrounding community by the school-magazine, at activity days at the schools, by bringing home their experiences and by press release (for example, this year Danish newspapers have published 160 articles about different Eco-Schools).
   
Eight years, then what? Some of the Danish Eco-Schools have worked with the programme and the environmental education for almost 10 years. Now they stand before a great challenge. How can all the good work and the environmental awareness grow from a project to a fully implemented tradition?
   
One of many answers is “the green agreement” also called a local curriculum. Together the teachers develop a curriculum valid especially for their school. The school governor and the parents committee will be involved, and usually the Municipality also. The green agreement insures that environmental education and practical work are implemented yearly at all class levels. The teacher team for each class is responsible for the curriculum work, which includes a list of activities that can be done to teach the children.
   
Read the shortened example of the green agreement for “Nygaard School” below:
   

   
The school has a similar agreement about water, energy and nature.

(September 2002)

   
On 9-13 September 2002 nature interpreters from all over the world will meet in Elsinore, Denmark to explore how nature interpretation is able to promote sustainable development. International key-note speakers will address the questions of “Nature Interpretation that Makes a Difference” and “Sustainable Development – How do we Measure Progress?” And as the conference takes place at the same time as the World Summit on “Sustainable Development” in Johannesburg the results from South Africa will naturally be a theme open to discussion. “Rethink, Reduce, Re-use, Recycle” is the title of one of 12 workshops offered. The delegates are invited to present case studies in the workshops and Danish nature interpreters together with green guides will demonstrate practical examples of Danish nature interpretation during excursions in the countryside. The joint experience of the participating nature interpreters will result in a “Code of Conduct for Nature Interpretation as a Tool in Promoting Sustainable Development” as well as a handbook with examples of good practice. First announcement and further information are available on the conference web site: www.interpretation2002.dk

(December 2001)

   
In connection with Denmark's Presidency of the EU in 2002, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Danish EPA) is arranging a meeting of the Children’s Council in Copenhagen. The theme of this meeting will be chemicals, and the meeting will be attended in October 2002 by about 70 youths, aged from 13 to 15 years, from EU Member States and applicant countries. The purpose of the Council meeting is to give youth more information and a more discerning view of chemicals, so that they may realize that their choices help to affect the products that are launched and survive on the market. The unifying thread that runs through Chemical Days is the teenage bedroom – both the venue of the meeting and the Web site will be designed as a teenage bedroom, intended to create an illusion of the young participants' surroundings at home. In preparation for Chemical Days, teaching material, which take their points of departure in typical products for the teenage bedroom, are now being developed. For each product, the chemical ingredients throughout its life cycle, and thus the product's effects on health and the environment, will be spotlighted. After Chemical Days, the most important themes of debate, formulations of problems and recommendations to the authorities and relevant companies will be available on the Web site.

(December 2001)