Now the summer is over the Energy Challenge is back in action. The initiative promotes environmental awareness and sustainable mobility across Mallorca through activities designed especially for children. Under the slogan “Building tomorrow today”, the activity took place on Thursday 11 December in Sa Coma. Fifth and sixth year primary school pupils gathered with their teachers in the green area opposite the CEIP Punta de n’Amer school. Children from the CEIP Mestre Guillem Galmés school in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar also attended the event.
A total of 113 students took part, and they were welcomed on arrival by the Mayor of Sant Llorenç, Jaume Soler, together with the Councillor for the Environment, Joan Mestre; the Delegate for the Coastal Zone, Emilia Díaz-Asensio; and the Councillor for General Services, Miguel Domínguez. Joan Gibert, head of Energy Challenge, introduced the attendees to the activity, which, as in previous editions, was divided into several sections that combined fun with useful information.
Two large tents housed the six clean energy generating teams installed, which, by means of stationary bicycles, allowed the children to learn first-hand how to produce electricity simply by pedalling. Two other activities of interest were also available to participants. The first, led by an expert, demonstrated the virtues of new sustainable mobility equipment. The Scobic Mini tricycle, a vehicle designed for so-called “last mile mobility”, taught children how a state-of-the-art vehicle can contribute to a smart, efficient and always user-friendly way of getting around, without wasting energy or producing emissions.
Alongside this demonstration, the students were able to enjoy another member of the Energy team, who offered a workshop on waste recycling, developed in the form of a fun relay race to compete in the proper separation of waste. In addition, all the boys and girls participated in a fun initiative. They were given paper and paints to let their imaginations run wild and design the future mascot of Energy Challenge. When it was time to recharge their batteries, they were treated to a snack of fresh, locally sourced fruit.
Participation also had a reward from the so-called Espai Verd, set up by Energy. All the students received a plant, in this case a cabbage, and were encouraged to plant it at home and enjoy both watching it grow and eating its fruit. The political representatives who attended the activity, both from Sa Coma and from the Sant Llorenç Town Council, followed its progress with interest and agreed on the originality of the event and its practical and educational usefulness. Jaume Soler, Mayor of Sant Llorenç, stated that Energy ‘allows the children of our municipality to learn first-hand about the benefits of sustainable mobility and to understand the fundamental principles for gradually improving our planet together through sustainability.’ He added that ‘as a Council, we are very pleased to have participated in this event and hope to see it continue for many years to come.’
Councillor Emilia Díaz-Asensio wanted to ‘first of all thank you for the opportunity to participate in this experience’ and praised ‘the participation of all the children, who were eager to join in from the very beginning.’ ‘Young people already have a high level of environmental awareness, and promoting it through this type of activity gives them new experiences in methods of producing clean energy,’ she said.
Juan Mestre, councillor for the Environment, expressed similar sentiments: ‘The children are participating in raising awareness about the environment and sustainability, as well as becoming more conscious of these issues.’ Regarding the council’s position on these issues, he did not hesitate to state that “they are very important. To give an example, two weeks ago we planted 400 junipers on Sa Coma beach. We believe in respect for the environment and sustainability. That is why it is important that schools continue to grow with these experiences.’
Councillor Miguel Domínguez stated that ’Sant Llorenç is a municipality committed to the environment, and hosting this activity is proof of that. Teaching children how to save electricity by producing clean energy is a way of caring for the environment. All of this will be the future for achieving a better world.’ Regarding his areas of work, which include service management, he said that ‘we have to get used to the trend of vehicles replacing fossil fuels with electricity. This is something that extends to many areas, such as street lighting, which we are replacing with energy-saving LEDs. It’s all part of the same challenge: improving the environment.” The activity was made possible thanks to the Sant Llorenç Town Council and the Regional Ministry of Business, Employment and Energy of the Government of the Balearics.