In 2016, we were able to award 13 first prizes for student projects that exhibited outstanding creativity and innovative thinking, applicability in local communities, and a high quality of presentation – all done in the students' foreign language English.
The Teach About US team and our partners want to thank everyone who participated and helped make this contest a success. Congratulations to all students and teachers!
Video: Going Green project finale at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Berlin, April 2016.
The award-winning Going Green action plans are:
Best Video
Going Green video ideas
by course 5e at Gymnasium Essen-Werden with teacher Karsten Brill.
Best Bulletin Board
Our food – local, healthy, sustainable
by the Biology bilingual course (grade 10) at Städtisches Gymnasium Gevelsberg with teacher Birgit Klöber.
Best Website
How much water do we eat?
by the project group English at Dalton-Gymnasium Alsdorf, with teacher Anissa Schiffer.
Community Engagement Award
Act locally: Our Bike Day, our Donation to the Peace Village in Oberhausen and Teaching Refugees
by the course Q1 and Schülervertretung at Dalton-Gymnasium Alsdorf, with teacher Anissa Schiffer.
Transatlantic Reward
SG Goes Green
by the course 8a at Schubart-Gymnasium Aalen, with teachers Bettina Schönherr and Ilona Ackermann.
Most Comprehensive Award to Save the Environment
Small Steps for a Big Change
by the English course Q1 at Wilhelm-Kraft-Gesamtschule des Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreises and Berrien Springs High School, with teachers Martina Westermann and John Vitek.
Most Artistic Project
Plastic is everywhere!
by the course 7e at Goethe Gymnasium Frankfurt am Main with teacher Anne von Rekowski.
Best Powerpoint Presentation
Einstein Goes Green!
by the grade 11 at Albert-Einstein-Gymnasium Maintal, with teacher Jil Behr.
Most Innovative Product Idea (Print)
Green World - all about plastic!
by the grade 10a at Humboldt-Gymnasium Potsdam, with teacher Silke Meyfarth.
Best Presentation
Life Cycle of Clothes
by the grade 10a at Gymnasium Hittfeld Seevetal, with teacher Philipp Schmidt.
Most Innovative Product Idea
Slow Down Fast Fashion
by the English course grade 11 at BIP-Kreativitätsgymnasium Leipzig, with teacher Madlen Naumann.
Most Creative Contribution
Greenefying Our Scholl School
by grade 11 at Geschwister-Scholl-Schule Zossen, with teacher Patrick Emmelmann.
As you all know, for such projects to succeed, it takes more than a learning platform and the prospect of presenting your idea to a large audience. In fact, what all of these student projects have in common is a teacher who sparked enthusiasm and inspired creativity among their students. This is why we decided to make this engagement visible by creating the Most Engaged Teacher Award. Four teachers share this award:
- Anissa Schiffer (Dalton-Gymnasium Alsdorf)
- Chiara Catalano (Georg-Herwegh-Gymnasium Berlin)
- Bettina Schönherr and Ilona Ackermann (Schubart-Gymnasium Aalen)
They all impressed us with their meticulous work on the Moodle plattform and the fact that they all succeeded in truly engaging their students in community outreach activities. They helped build partnerships with elected officials, local businesses, or institutions of higher education as part of their Going Green participation. With this award, we want to honor the commitment of these colleagues and shine a light on outstanding teacher engagement – which all too often is not being recognized the way it should be.
Our competition winners were invited to present their action plans to fellow project participants at concluding events in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Düsseldorf. If you couldn't make it to these events or want to relive the experience, here are some impressions from these events.
Going Green Award Winners at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Berlin.
Going Green 2016 Final Event in Frankfurt.
Here are some more impressions from the final event in Berlin at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung:
Once again, the entire Teach About US team and our partners would like to congratulate all students and teachers who participated in Going Green and made this project such a – sustainable – success!
Marilena Peters has been pursuing her B.A. in teaching Social Studies with a geographical focus and English as a Foreign Language at Leuphana University Lüneburg since 2015. After finishing her studies with a Master’s degree, Marilena intends to teach at an elementary school.
'Going Green – Education for Sustainability' is an intercultural blended-learning project that engages students on both sides of the Atlantic in interdisciplinary project work on English as a foreign language, American studies, environmental and political science. The annual project is part of the Teach About US platform developed by the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Leuphana University Lüneburg, and LIFE e.V. Since the pilot project in 2014, over 2,500 participants in Germany and the U.S. have participated in four project cycles and have produced over 50 green action plans to implement sustainable development in their local communities. Going Green is a proud recipient of the Germany – Land of Ideas Award 2015.