The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment together with the Department of Education and Universities of the GOIB and the Department of Environment, Biosphere Reserve and Cooperation of the Consell Insular de Menorca have delivered to teachers and students the awards of the 19th edition of the program, which has had the adhesion of 15 schools and institutes of the island.

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Fifteen schools in Menorca

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment together with the Department of Education and Universities of the Balearic Government and the Department of Environment, Biosphere Reserve and Cooperation of the Consell Insular de Menorca have delivered this Thursday, November 9, the awards and certificates of participation of the Eco-environmental Centers Program 2022-2023, which reward 15 schools and institutes of Menorca for their projects on environmental education and sustainable development. Six of these centres have received the award that certifies having achieved the objectives of environmentalization set by the program over two courses. The remaining nine have been recognized for their commitment to sustainability and their participation in the 19th edition of this initiative.

The ceremony, held in the Multifunctional Hall des Mercadal, was attended by the Director General of Natural Environment and Forest Management, Ana Torres; the Councillor for Environment, Biosphere Reserve and Cooperation, Simon Gornés; the territorial director of Education, Alexandra Marqués; the island director of Biosphere Reserve, David Vidal; the head of service quality and environmental education, Gabriel Bardi, and the mayor des Mercadal, Joan Pellicer.

Ana Torres recalled that the issues that the Eco-environmental Centers program works on, such as biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, or responsible consumption “address the future challenges we have as a society”, and therefore “facing these challenges is the only possible way to not spoil the planet and help it recover from the situation in which it finds itself”.

Gornés congratulated the participating centres and wanted to emphasize that “Menorca is a territory historically committed to the conservation of the environment and biodiversity, and this has been possible thanks to the transmission of values to the younger generations. This program and its consolidation is an example of the importance of education and the joint work between teachers and students to share these values, which provides a fundamental look to the students to face challenges such as climate change or the sustainable use of our resources”.

The objective of the program is to promote environmental education in the life of schools in the Balearic Islands. The proposal involves supporting the centres to design work plans related to the environment and sustainability and that these are integrated into their own curricula and study plans. The environmental initiative is presented at the beginning of the school year and an action plan is drawn up to achieve the objectives they have decided to work on.

The main thematic axes established for the 2022-2023 academic year were “Energy and climate change”, “Waste” and “Water”. The centres could also work on other secondary axes such as responsible consumption, orchards and gardens, biodiversity and mobility.

Award-winning centers

The award-winning centers in Menorca have been: CEIP Sant Lluís, IES Cap de Llevant, IES Joan Ramis i Ramis, IES Josep Maria Quadrado, IES Pasqual Calbó, and CC Calos Salesianos.

For their part, the centers that have received the certificate of participation have been: CEIP Sa Garriga, CEIP Angel Ruiz i Pablo, CEIP Mare de Deu del Carme, CEIP Fornells, IES Josep Miquel Guardia, CC La Consolació, CC Sant Josep, CEIP Ma Lluisa Serra, and CEIP Pere Casasnoves.

The Department of Environment, Biosphere Reserve and Cooperation has participated in this government program since the academic year 2016 – 2017 supporting the development of the work plans of each centre participating.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment together with the Ministry of Education and Universities of the Government have recognized 54 schools in the Balearic Islands with the award, and have delivered 76 certificates of participation.

This year, the 20th call of the program has the participation of 150 schools in the Balearic Islands, 20 more than last year.