KITA21 nursery schools in Harburg

KITA21 nursery schools are recognised places of "sustainable learning". For the time being, roughly 10 per cent of Harburg's nursery schools offer various ESD activities covering the following aspects (or fields of action) of sustainable development: energy, food, paper, toys, trees, waste, water and woods.

The following list renders a brief description of the ESD activities in local nursery schools. It is meant as a source of inspiration to ECE teachers willing to carry out (new) ESD projects at their workplace and to extend their networking activities. 

ENERGY

• Kita Janusz Korczak Haus became a KITA21 institution for the first time in 2012, after the children and their teachers had travelled through time from the Stone Age to modern times (2012) looking for and experimenting with electrical and other forms of energy. Contact Mrs. Heidi Kreutzfeld via kita-janusz-korczak-haus@drk-hh-harburg.de for more information or visit www.kita-hamburg-langenbek.de. Other ESD projects centre around => WATER and  => WASTE

•  In 2013/2014,  the nursery school Kita Eddelbuettelerstraße explored the ways and means of producing, using and saving energy at the kindergarten and at home. They identified electrical energy users, build a solar cooker and modelled an energy-saving house. Contact Mr. Alfons Bertels or Mrs. Bärbel Melzer at kita-eddelbuettelstrasse@elbkinder-kitas.de orat  www.elbkinder-kitas.de and learn more about the project. Another KITA21 projects focuses on => FOOD

FOOD

• The Jury awarded the ASB Kita Kirchenhang, in 2012 the title of "KITA21" for their ESD activities which involved the entire preschool. The project dealt with questions about why, what and how we eat in this part of the world and in other cultures. More information will render Mrs Ewa Dobrowolski and Mrs Silke Grell, E-Mail: kitakirchenhang@asb-hamburg.de homepage www.asb-hamburg.de. 

• Also in 2012, the Kita Kinderwaldschlösschen was awarded the title KITA21 after all the children and teachers had explored  farming, components, ways of cooking, Product packaging materials, food waste as well as the carbon footprint pertaining to noodles, potatoes and rice: Ask Mrs Marion Haider, Mrs Kirsten Pollkehn or Mrs Jessica Askar for more details at kita-kinderwaldschloesschen@drk-hh-harburg.de or visit www.kita-hamburg-heimfeld.de. Other KITA21 projects involved aspects of: => WATER and  => WASTE.

• In 2011/2012, the Kita Cuxi Kids focused on milk and dairy products and examined cattle farming, animal welfare, milk, cream, butter, yoghurt and cream production, taste, nutrition facts as well as the product packaging. They also tried their hands at producing their own dairy products. For more information contact Mrs Anke Kleinschmidt at kita-cuxhavener-strasse-192@kitas-hamburg.de or visit www.elbkinder-kitas.de Another ESD project deals with => ENERGY

• Both children and teachers of Kita Quellmoor visited three dairy farms and took, in 2012/2013, a closer look at cattle farming and the production of milk and milk products,. They also produced their own cream cheese, created a life-size cow and collages with food with milk in them. Glove puppet "Rosi", (a toy cow)  accompanied all activities. Contact  Mrs Andrea Sulewski for more details at info@russischer-kindergarten.de or www.pedia-bildung.de => www.russischer-kindergarten.de. Further ESD projects involve learning about => WASTE

PAPER

• In 2013/2014 ,15 preschool children  of the Kinderhaus Museumsplatz (formerly Kinderhaus Fleethaus)  looked into the ecological, economic and cultural aspects of paper. They learned where paper comes from and how to make paper, reduce waste and separate the rest correctly. More information can be obtained from Mr Eike Ahrens, at museumsplatz@sternipark.de or on www.sternipark.de. Other KITA21 project activities focus on  => WOODS

 TOYS

• The Kita Am Johannisland was awarded the title "KITA21" for the first time in 2014 for their project on the responsible use of toys. The children compared their access to and rich choice of toys with the availability and use of toys in the poorer regions of the world. They repaired and swapped some toys and sold others for charity and enjoyed (and still do) so-called "toy-free days". Contact Mrs Martina Gerlach and Mrs Georgina Bressel at kita-am-johannisland@elbkinder-kitas.de or visit www.elbkinder-kitas.de and find out more about the project.

 TREES

• In 2010/2011, preschool children of the Kita Kapellenweg were concerned with the ecological, economic, cultural and global aspects of trees and timber. They also planted trees - the necessary financial means came from selling home-made fruit skewers - and developed ideas for protecting woods. More details can be obtained at info@schule-kapellenweg.hamburg.de.

WASTE

• Next to waste separation, the various and imaginative ways of avoiding waste were at the heart of the Kita Janusz-Korczak-Haus' ESD activities in 2013/2014. The children created musical instruments, flower pots, paper hats, waste pictures, a city made of boxes and many more objects from waste they had collected at a neighbouring playground .For more information send an e-Mail to Mrs Heidi Kreutzfeld or Mrs Beata Glischinski, at kita-janusz-korczak-haus@drk-hh-harburg.de or visit www.kita-hamburg-langenbek.de. More ESD activities  cover aspects of  => ENERGY and => WATER.

• In 2013/2014, everyone at the Kita Kinderwaldschlösschen engaged in waste separation and avoiding strategies and learned how making your own toys and giving old toys to others , for example, can protect both nature and the climate. They viewed waste management in other countries. The project culminated in a play conceived and performed by a group of preschool children  entitled " We want to save our world". Mrs Marion Haider has more details for you. Send an e-mail to kita-kinderwaldschloesschen@drk-hh-harburg.de or visit www.kita-hamburg-heimfeld.de. Other KITA21 projects deal with => FOOD and => WATER.

• Together with the glove puppet Rosalie, "the Witch of the Waste" , 20 children aged 4 to 6 concerned themselves at the German-Russian kindergarten  Kita Quellmoor with the separation , avoidance and recycling of waste. They established their a waste management system. as a result, the institution resolved to avoid plastic and aluminium wrapping and use recycled paper and recycled plastic bags from now on  at the nursery and, gave old toys away. For more information contact Mrs Andrea Sulewski at info@russischer-kindergarten.de or visit  www.pedia-bildung.de => www.russischer-kindergarten.de.Other ESD projects deal with => FOOD

 WATER

• At the DRK Kinderwaldschlösschen, twenty-four so-called water explorers and swung into action together with their teachers and examined water from the cultural, ecological, economical and global perspective in 2012/2013. Activities included experiments on the natural water cycle and water purification, the responsible use of water, worldwide drinking water situation etc. Inquire about the project with Mrs Heidi Kreutzfeld or Jessica Askar at kita-kinderwaldschloesschen@drk-hh-harburg.de or on www.kita-hamburg-heimfeld.de. Other sustainable education projects are concerned with aspects of => FOOD and => WASTE.

• In 2013, the Kita Janusz Korzak Haus was awarded the title "KITA21" for the second time. 22 children aged between 4 and 6 had explored water as an indispensible ecosystem needing protection, a commodity and a route of transportation. They also observed the amount of drinking water used at the kindergarten. Further details are available from Mrs Birgit Rollke, e-Mail: kita-janusz-korczak-haus@drk-hh-harburg.de or on www.kita-hamburg-langenbek.de. Other ESD projects concern => ENERGY and => WASTE.

WOODS

• Fairy tales, stories, poems and songs introduced a group of 15 children of the Kinderhaus Fleethaus to this topic in 2011/2012. In a nearby wood they examined trees and plants and collected samples of soil, twigs and other" natural treasures" as well as waste. They also learned about the flora and fauna living in the woods, topic-related professions and wood processing. More ideas render Mr Eike Ahrens at museumsplatz(at)sternipark.de or visit www.sternipark.de. Other ESD activities deal with => PAPER

Read on:
> ESD in Germany
> KITA21 (intro)
> KITA21 - Shapers of the Future (German project website)

cb (Chris Baudy) latest update: January 2015