Prize winners of the “Think Smart, Create Green” school contest took part in the “Festival of Green Ideas” in Lithuania
On 5 June, the “Festival of Green Ideas” took place in the inner courtyard of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania. During the festival, the winners of the fourth edition of “Think Smart, Create Green” were invited to present their best ideas on sustainability.
At this World Environment Day event, the “Tent-Coat-Sleeping Bag” project was presented by the winners of this year’s competition from S. Dach pro-gymnasium. The team created a tent-coat-sleeping bag for the competition and announced a package collection campaign where they organized and washed greasy packages. The first layer of the tent-coat-sleeping bag was sewn from these washed packages, the second layer was made from non-degradable plastic bags, and the middle was filled with used cotton fabrics. This creation can be used as a tent, e.g. for warmth or protection during an earthquake, as a coat when it rains, or as a sleeping bag.
Another team of students from S. Dach pro-gymnasium presented their project titled “Our Future Eco Show”. The team created a model of the school’s future using only secondary raw materials. Based on the principles of sustainability and ecology, the school is designed to function as a closed ecosystem that sustains itself. In the basement, there is a room for waste disposal, a worm bin for processing garden waste, and a water tank. It also features a teaching room for paper making, a clothes exchange, a leisure/rest area, aquaponics aquariums, a bicycle parking lot with charging stations, and a vegetable garden located next to the school.
Another team of students from S. Dach pro-gymnasium, the participants of last year’s competition, also presented their best sustainability ideas. They presented the project “Tiny Green Feet Towards Environmentally Friendly School” – a convincing and well-thought-out model of an environmentally friendly school, where energy is used sparingly to light up the building. To protect themselves from noise and pollution, students placed plants on the walls of the building and designed a watering system that uses collected rainwater. They also designed a vegetable patch, and restricted vehicle access to bicycles only.
Another “School of the Future” project was presented by a team from “Krantas” pro-gymnasium. Students created a detailed 3D model of their future school, in which they took various statistical data into account to improve the school as much as possible, allowing for lower electricity consumption, improved heating and ventilation systems. The school area was redesigned based on the principles of sustainability and environmental friendliness. Students also planned out quiet zones and vertical gardens where vegetables would be grown.
A total of 25 companies, institutions and non-governmental organizations presented the best ideas and projects on sustainability at the “Green Ideas Festival”. During the event, botanical garden educators from Klaipėda University also invited students to pursue this path further through education.
The main purpose of this event was to familiarize the public, and especially the youth, with environmental innovations, green initiatives and projects, and to encourage everyone to contribute to developing a more sustainable future for Lithuania.
