Please visit our website. There is a video about the project:
https://www.fwg-koeln.de/home/705-pergola-fuer-das-gruene-klassenzimmer
The green initiative is the further development of our school’s “green classroom”, located on the playground and designed as a stone circle used as an outdoor learning space. As part of the project, a pergola was built to improve the usability and attractiveness of this learning environment.
It is a school-based, hands-on sustainability project that combines greening elements with practical activities. The pergola will be painted and equipped with climbing aids, and it will be planted with climbing plants in the coming spring. This will create a green, shaded outdoor classroom that supports learning in a natural environment.
The motivation is to make the school grounds greener and to create an attractive, sustainable outdoor learning space. The project aims to strengthen environmental awareness, promote hands-on learning and encourage student participation in shaping their school environment.
The project includes several activities:
Planning and construction of the pergola with active participation of particularly committed students from former Year 7
Practical building work supported by an external crafts expert
Ongoing design activities by the school’s garden club, including painting, installing climbing supports and planting
The activities take place project-based and over a longer period of time. Pupils, teachers, external experts and the garden club are involved.
The project was generously funded by the Association of Gardening, Landscaping and Sports Ground Construction North Rhine-Westphalia (Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau NRW e. V.) together with the ERASMUS+ programme “green cool school”.
So far, the pergola has been successfully built and integrated into the existing green classroom. In the near future, it will be painted and planted. The expected result is a fully functional, green outdoor classroom that can be used regularly for teaching and learning.
The project has actively involved a group of highly motivated students and strengthened cooperation between the school, university partners and external professionals. A visible improvement of the school grounds has already been achieved, and the green classroom has gained greater importance as a learning space.
The project originated from a previous project week (“Green Cool School”) and was continued with the active participation of students from that year group. Particularly engaged pupils were directly involved in the construction process and practical decision-making.
- Students
- Teachers
- Facility manager
In the coming weeks, the pergola will be painted and equipped with climbing aids. In spring, it will be planted with climbing plants. The long-term plan is to use the green classroom regularly as a living, sustainable learning environment and to further integrate it into school life.