In the framework of ENGIE ECO Schools 2017, we again supported 4 schools

Bratislava, 2 May 2017


ENGIE Services, as part of the ENGIE ECO Schools project, which was first implemented in 2015, supported 4 schools in Western Slovakia this year. Together with nearly a hundred pupils from selected fifth and sixth grades, as well as staff volunteers, they planted trees, shrubs and greenery in the schoolyards in April. In addition, the pupils took part in interactive lectures given by ENGIE Services employees and then visited local boiler houses to see the technologies used to generate heat.

The project aimed at promoting environmental education in ENGIE ECO Schools was first launched in autumn 2015. It enjoyed great success and interest from both the pupils and the ENGIE Services staff who took part. The company supported 5 primary schools in the towns where it operates its thermal power plants – Pezinok, Senica, Malacky and the Bratislava districts of Vrakuňa and Rača. In total, more than 120 children participated in the project. If something is socially beneficial and good, it should be continued, which is why ENGIE Services decided to support the same schools in Pezinok, Malacky, Senica and Rača again this year. Almost 100 fifth and sixth grade pupils and 30 volunteers from ENGIE Services employees were involved in the project. The programme prepared for the schools was again varied and interesting and the pupils of the four schools were certainly not bored in April. The project was divided into three parts. The first part was a lecture in which ENGIE Services employees tried to introduce the children in a playful way to the production and distribution of heat and hot water, the world of energy and its efficient and economical use.

“We completed this part in the first half of April. I was preparing a lecture for children in Pezinok. I was pleasantly surprised how active the children were, how they cooperated and had very good questions and insights. I am glad that I was able to take part in this project because I am aware that these children will also decide how the world will change in terms of energy use in the future.” says František Sás, Director of Energy Controlling and Support Activities at ENGIE Services.

The second part of the project, which took place on the same dates as the lectures, was a visit to the boiler house. Each school had a field trip in its own town. As part of the boiler house visit, ENGIE Services staff showed the children where, how and through what technologies the heat is generated, which is then piped to their homes.

“I accompanied the children in our modernised boiler house in the Sever housing estate in Pezinok, where I had the opportunity to show and explain how heat production works, how technologies change over time and what the future might look like in this area. I was pleased to see that the children are interested in learning and getting to know new things, which will certainly benefit them in the future, not only for themselves, but also for the area they will later be involved in their profession,” says Ľubomír Poór, Head of the Heat Production Department in Pezinok. The last part of the project, the most active outdoors, dedicated to planting greenery, is planned by ENGIE Services for the second half of April. In this way, the company wants to show the children how important greenery is for the lives of all of us, to actively involve them in its creation and at the same time to promote team spirit. In Senica and Rača, pupils together with volunteers from ENGIE Services planted fruit trees in the schoolyard. In Pezinok, new benches, large flower pots and ornamental shrubs and greenery were planted in front of the school entrance. On Štúrova Street in Malacky, pupils planted more than 80 ornamental shrubs in front of the school.

“Projects of this nature have a huge social meaning and added value for the volunteers involved – colleagues from our company as well as the pupils themselves. Thanks to such activities, we can also introduce children to the rather complex world of energy, its meaning, its functioning and the future that awaits us in connection with its efficient and economical use. It is important to educate children about environmental protection, to encourage their curiosity, activity and exercise in the fresh air, and in this way to take them out of the virtual reality in which they often spend hours and encourage their willingness to help others and to beautify their environment through their own work,” concludes František Sás.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Engie