Umwelt und Nachhaltigkeit / Environment and Sustainability

 

By Peter Morton, Head of Department for Secondary Language Acquisition


Over the past few months, our grade seven German students have had the chance to visit the Umwelt Arena, Spreitenbach, as part of their language studies.

During three separate trips to the environment arena, located on the outskirts of Zurich near IKEA, students have deepened their knowledge of humans’ impact on the environment as part of our unit of inquiry focused on sustainability.

Students loved the opportunity to extend their learning beyond the classroom and made the most of the interactive exhibitions, focussing on a whole range of topics such as renewable energy, responsible consumption, recycling and sustainable transportation.

Our young people were given a motivating tour of the Umwelt Arena by local experts, who shared many practical tips for sustainable living in the modern world through engaging multimedia exhibits.

With 45 different sustainable topics to discover, experience and interact with, the Umwelt Arena is a destination worth visiting regularly to appreciate the breadth and depth of this fascinating topic.

The highlight of the trip for many was the chance to test-drive a range of electric and human-powered vehicles, such as tandems, bullet-bikes, Segways, pedal karts and scooters.

  

  

Student quotes:

Ion
“I learned that (to produce) one kilogram of meat requires 5000 litres of water.”

Willem
“I learned that cheaper meat is usually less sustainable. So if your family has the money to buy more expensive meat, it’s better for the environment and more sustainable.”

Russell
“Meat is not sustainable. I think that we should eat other things which are more sustainable.”

Jun
“It was very interesting to see the impact of what we do on the environment. Overall, it was really fun. The main thing I learned was probably when we went through the mouth tunnel, and we looked at the impact food consumption has on the environment. I’d probably start eating less meat and try more vegan options.”

Gabe
It was pretty cool. I enjoyed the electric-car simulator.”

Archer 
“It went really well. My favourite things was the mouth tunnel. I might eat a bit less meat, and I’ll also try to buy locally.”

Lia
“I thought it was really fun and an interactive way to learn about sustainability in German. A fact that I learned was that If you recycle a can it can save 95% more energy than if you throw it into the trash can.”

Jessica
“It was really fun. The tour was really helpful to raise awareness of recycling…sustainability.”

Maia
“It was good. It was really fun. I really liked the parcours area, especially the double bicycle, when Isla and I nearly fell off.”

Isla
“I mainly learned about what humans and some animals do to the environment. I also really enjoyed the day and the variety of different activities. It was really cool that it was all in the same building.”

Teisa
“That was actually really fun… It showed the different things that we recycle and how much we waste in a year. That was a bit shocking because 706Kg of waste is a lot for the average person. I thought that I could use less and reduce that number. Honestly, I think that the main thing is recycling, so I think that I should start recycling much more.”