Our class 4UD has been working on sustainability for months. They also participated in an eTwinning international project (called "GreEnglish") with other schools in Romania and Slovakia.
At the end of this long journey, here are their thoughts about what they have learnt and some activities which might be promoted by our school.
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Before attending this school year I didn’t care much about the planet and pollution, maybe because I wasn’t so informed about this topic. Now that I know a lot of things about climate change I can say that people must be worried about it and they can still do something to make a difference.
After listening to Greta’s speech, I understood that we don’t have a lot of time left and in class a young girl from the university of Trento showed us how worse the situation is getting.
However, it is important to know that it’s not too late if we all work together. We have learned that there are individual and grop actions we can do to protect our planet. This starts with changing small habits like taking the bus instead of driving, or choosing organic food and green clothes and then it includes more complex actions such as creating a campaign to make a company more sustainable.
In the future, I would like to promote even more green activities. I think it would be useful to have more meetings to talk about this issue and raise awareness among everyone. We could also do some challenges at school: we can check which class produces the least waste during a period of time, or organise an event where you learn how to cook with local food. Another idea might be to cycle to school in group, instead of taking other means.
In conclusion, after all these projects completed in this year, I think that climate change is such a serious problem, but all together we can make a change!
(Nina)
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This school year has been really interesting because our teachers proposed to us a lot of activities related to climate change. Thanks to all those projects I started asking myself if it is too late for a real change. The truth is that time is running out, but if we all act now, change is still possible. This year we worked on a Climate Action Project where we analyzed the causes of climate change, from economic systems to political inaction. We also explored how ordinary people, like us, can help make a difference. Some ideas included promoting awareness campaigns, supporting pro-climate associations, and encouraging sustainable lifestyles. The project was very interesting and opened my eyes on many issues.
However, one of the projects which really stood out for me and was the zero-waste soap laboratory. We reused waste olive oil to make eco-friendly soap. I loved this activity because it was practical, fun, and useful and last but not least it showed me how small actions can be really meaningful.
I think that promoting practical activities combined with an explanation could be the best option to let students learn and see what they can really do for the climate. So for the future, I would love to see more hands-on laboratories like the one we had. For example, our school could organize something like a natural cosmetics lab, where students can make their own make-up with natural ingredients, or a sewing course where students can learn how to make or mend clothes with re-used materials.
We need to feel more connected to the environment in our everyday lives, also to understand how important it is to start doing something to change the situation and to guarantee us a future that they are stealing from us. Real change can happen but only if we raise our voice and keep learning, acting, and inspiring others.
(Martina)
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What can we do for the climate? This year, with my classmates, I participated in a course about this topic. We learned how climate change is affecting our planet and what actions we can take to help.
One of the activities we did was to explain how to make soap. At school, we were taught how to make soap with waste olive oil. It is better for the environment because we don’t dispose of oil in the environment.
We also had another lesson that focused exclusively on climate change. We discussed Greta Thunberg's speech and the need for immediate action. Her words really encouraged us to think hard about our future and take our responsibilities seriously.
In future, I would like to plan more activities such as a school garden, a bike day and a clean-up day. It is not too late, we can all do something to help protect our planet.
(Noemi)
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What do you think about climate change, is it too late to make a difference?
Greta Thunberg would have said something like: “we are running out of time, but it is never too late to make a difference!”. Listening to Greta Thumberg’s speech really made me think: is it too late? How can we save our planet?
I believe that even small actions can make a difference, but everyone needs to do these little actions to help saving our future. This year, we did different projects to learn how to be more sustainable, like saponification using waste olive oil to turn it into hand soap. We also had a meeting with Anna Castiglione about climate change. All these activities helped me understand that we don’t have so much time and we must all change our habits for the well-being of our planet and future generations.
In the future I would like to do more practical projects (like the soap we made this year), for example organize a “Plants day” where we can plant together some trees and name it after our school or our class, to decorate the city and add some plants and flowers to extend the green areas in Rovereto or in our school garden (although we already have a beautiful garden).
(Isabella)
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Are you sure that the climate crisis can still be solved? Many people wonder if we have already passed the tipping point, but I believe there is still hope if we act now.
This year at school, we had the opportunity to take an intensive course on climate and its problems. For several days, we’ve been listening to talks that have helped us understand the causes and effects of global warming and pollution, and how we can help face these problems. Environmental pollution is becoming a serious problem affecting the air, water and land around us. One of the most powerful moments was watching the famous speech by Greta Thunberg. Her strong and emotional words made us realize that young people can raise their voices and really make a difference.
We started a daily activity that takes only five minutes. Every day, we chose what to do the next day, simple but useful things to help the planet. These small steps help us understand that everyone can do something and together we can create real change. We also learned how to build an awareness campaign to share what we think and believe.
Inspired by all this, we have also made several projects on sustainability. One of these was the "Zero Waste Soap" project, where we made soap using waste olive oil. Instead of throwing it away, we turned it into soap bars. It was a creative way to reuse waste and help the environment.
Some ideas I would like to promote are: using the Vinted plus app to buy and sell second-hand clothes instead of always buying new ones; going to local markets more often to buy seasonal food; avoiding distant products that cause pollution due to transport; other similar actions that help reduce our impact on the environment.
Real change starts with small actions. Time is running out, but if we act together it’s not too late. We do our part today and every day.
(Giulia)
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After listening to Greta Thunberg’s powerful speech, I started asking myself: "is it really too late to save our planet?" The situation is serious, and we all know that climate change is affecting our lives more and more every day. But I believe that if we act now, it is not too late for a real change. This year at school, we tried to do our part. For example, we made organic soap using natural ingredients, which is better for the environment than many industrial products. We also read texts and had discussions about sustainability and pollution, and it made me realize how small actions can make a big difference if we all do them together. But we can still do more. In the future, I would love to promote activities like:
- Creating a school vegetable garden, where students can learn how to grow their own food and understand the importance of local, seasonal products.
- Organizing a “No Plastic Week” to reduce the use of disposable plastic at school.
- Starting a clothes swap project, to give new life to old clothes instead of buying new ones all the time.
Real change can happen, but it needs all of us to work together, every day. We still have time, but we must act fast. As Greta said: “Our house is on fire” - so let’s not wait any longer!
(Alice)
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What are you really doing to save the planet and the environment?
This year we had the opportunity to talk about climate change. We learned about the causes and the effects that are visible right now all around the world.
Greta Thunberg’s speech was really powerful, and I think that this speech made people think about climate change. In fact many people believe that it is now too late to make a real difference, but after working on several projects at school I realized that it is never too late.
Specifically, this year a university student showed us in a really interesting way the causes and the effects, and made us think about what we could do. Improving the world and all the environment is essential to live in a beautiful way and peacefully with all the other people.
So, why don’t you try, even a little, to improve your lifestyle, so you can help the environment?
(Sofia)
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The answer is no, it’s not. If we started doing something now, if we started recycling or using less water maybe it is not too late.
(Giulia)
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Many people ask whether it’s too late to make a real change for our planet. I believe that even though we are running out of time, we can still do our bit, starting from our every-day life.
This year, we worked on many projects to understand the consequences of climate change and how to become more sustainable. One of the most interesting ones was creating natural soap using waste olive oil, dried flowers and essential oils. It was a fun and educational way to learn how to reduce chemical products by reusing everyday materials in an eco-friendly way.
It would be very interesting to extend this type of laboratory to all the classes!
It could also be a good initiative to organise a week of sustainability workshops, a clothes swap, waste collections and gardening! Our help for the climate, however, starts with our everyday behaviour, as we learnt well in a project on climate action.
The change starts from us, right here, right now!
(Chiara)
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After listening to Greta Thunberg’s speech, I feel more aware of the problems our planet is facing. Greta is young, like us, but she speaks with strength and passion. She says that we are in the middle of a climate crisis and that we must act now before it’s too late. I completely agree with her.
This year at school, we have already done some small projects to be more sustainable. For example, we produced soap using waste olive oil and we took part in a project about climate change.
However, I think we can do even more. In the future, I would like to organise a “Bike or Walk to School Week” to reduce pollution. We could also have workshops where students learn how to recycle and reuse objects, like turning old clothes into bags or decorations.
In my opinion, it is not too late for real change, but we all must work together. Every small action can help. Our future depends on what we do today.
(Alice)
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This year at school we did projects to help the environment. We made natural soap with used olive oil and natural essential oils, which are better for the planet than chemicals. We also worked on a climate action project where we learned that small actions can make a big difference.
In the future, I would like to see more green activities at school, we could plant a garden, do recycling workshops or take part in clean-up events. A few years ago I went to collect plastic waste and we found a lot of rubbish around the lake!
I think it is not too late for real change. If we all do something every day, we can help protect the Earth and our future.
(Maximiliano)
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Climate change is no longer a problem of the future, as it’s happening now. After listening to Greta Thunberg’s speech, I felt both scared and motivated. She speaks with courage, and she reminds us that young people have the power to make a difference. Is it too late? I don’t think so. But we have to move fast.
At school, we have already started doing small things to become more sustainable. One of the most interesting projects was making soap in class. It was a fun and useful experience because we learned how to create eco-friendly products by ourselves. We also studied and discussed many texts about climate and environmental problems. These activities helped me understand that change begins with knowledge and action.
However, if we want to do more, we need new ideas. In my opinion, our school could:
- Organize eco-workshops where students learn how to recycle creatively or make DIY natural products.
- Collaborate with local environmental groups to take part in clean-up days in parks or around the school.
- Create a “Green Week” with challenges like zero-waste lunch, bike-to-school day, or turning off lights and devices.
Change doesn’t come overnight, but every step counts. It’s not too late, unless we choose to do nothing. Our generation can build a better future if we work together and stay informed.
(Emma)
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Have you ever thought about a world where plastic is everywhere, animals have been wiped out and air is so polluted that you struggle to breathe? This could happen if we don’t do anything to combat climate change.
This year my class was involved in several projects, whose main issues were climate change and what we can do to improve this situation by only changing our habits. What I liked most was going to the laboratory and creating a soap with waste oil. This activity surprised me because it taught me that we can create a lot of things with recycled materials.
There are a lot of things that we can do in our school to be more sustainable. For example, we could create a vegetable garden and grow healthier food which could be sold during the break instead of buying snacks at the vending machines, although this could be very difficult to organize. However, we can join in a clean-up day that the Council of Rovereto organizes every year to reduce plastic and waste pollution in our streets.
In conclusion, we have the power to deal with climate change for a better world and to make our community a cleaner and healthier place. Instead of just complaining, it’s time to act! We can all make a difference by rolling up our sleeves and taking action. Let's take responsibility for our environment, not just for ourselves, but for future generations too.
(Silvia)
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I don’t think it’s too late for a real change. After listening to Greta’s speech and working on several school projects about sustainability, I believe there is still hope but we must act quickly and together. The planet is suffering, but if we change our habits now, we can still make a difference.
At school, we talked about pollution, climate change, and waste. We learned that even small actions, like recycling, turning off lights, or using public transport, can help the environment. If everyone does something, the impact can be big.
For the future, I think schools should organize more practical and creative activities. For example, we could plant trees, create a vegetable garden, reduce plastic use, or organize clean-up days in our community. These actions help us learn by doing and show that change is possible.
In conclusion, it’s not too late, but we have to start now.
(Lucio)
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For me it is not too late for a real change because if we want, all together, we can improve ourselves and change the situation. I think that it is important to help everyone to be more responsible and more aware. This could be possible if we collaborate and if we try to be sensible for us and for the planet. In order to do that, we could do a lot of activities to achieve this goal like listening to interesting talks at school, or carrying out activities that require creativity or debate.
(Niccolò)
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Considering everything we have done this year on sustainability, which has addressed issues such as climate change, the choice of a conscious lifestyle (consumption of resources, recycling, reduction of consumption), the damage caused to the environment by industrial overproduction (of clothes, for example), the lack of attention to purchases, I believe that what I have tried to work on, informing myself and trying to learn something new, has been above all about cooking, not only with the choice of a vegetarian diet (which I have almost imposed on my entire family), but also informing myself on the quality of the food I buy and on the possibility of reducing the consumption of ready-made products.
We have several books that I have read or browsed in search of recipes or suggestions to eat not only vegetarian, but also nutritious dishes. The latest book is Mrs Veggy's, "The Green Week", which deals with the aspects related to the sustainability of food choices and gives many simple ideas to change our habits to become vegetarian (or vegan). Another interesting book is "Four slaps in the pan" which suggests techniques to avoid highly advertised products and prepare them with plant-based and local ingredients. I'm passionate about it and I like to think that with what I put on my plate I can do something good for the planet, for the animals and for my health.
(Francesco)
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