We are delighted to award IH Timisoara the “Protecting our Planet” environmental sustainability badge.

The most outstanding example of IH Timisoara’s recognition of environmental is in their curriculum.

The environmental lessons which are being taught include an entire unit regarding the planet and environmental awareness. Lessons are centered around topics such as weather, natural disasters, pollution, alternative power sources, and climate change. These topics are approached broadly and debated, investigating their causes and discussing potential alternatives and solutions. This particular segment is aimed at Young Learners and it requires them to submit an essay on the topic of global warming at the end of the unit.

Other topics about the Earth’s future and current condition can also be found, with discussion topics such as 'Imagine the planet in 100 years'. Most of the lessons touch upon multicultural environments which are new to the learners and offer unique insight.

This subject matter is something that has been approached with groups of students of different ages over a significant period of time, at different levels of language.

Social media has been a great way of raising awareness regarding environmental issues and themes of sustainability, but also celebrating events such as Earth Day. There are also posters within the school that promote reducing the use of plastic and that also raise awareness about various environmental issues. Sustainable transport is definitely encouraged and there are staff members and students that walk or ride bikes to school.

News has spread outside the school of their expertise in this area, and in 2022 they were approached by a local state school to run an environmental awareness workshop for a group of students in their early teens on the subject of the 'Ideal Green City”.

Students were asked to brainstorm potential causes and solutions pertaining to the pollution in their area, have debates, and finally, be asked to produce a plan or drawing detailing their version of the 'Ideal Green City.'

This was such a success that in 2023 IH Timisoara have been asked to run a similar workshop with another state school and are also collaborating with Romania’s Environmental Protection Agency. As in 2022, the aim of this collaboration is to raise awareness regarding environmental issues amongst young learners.

The students are presented with a video concerning an environmental theme which also serves as the basis for a group discussion. Then they engage in a series of lexical exercises where they must ascertain the meaning and use of various terms that pertain to pollution and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, they are required to brainstorm specific methods and strategies that would help society in creating and establishing a more environmentally friendly planet and lifestyle.

Finally, with the information that they have gathered in the previous tasks, they must present an original project with the theme ’The Ideal City’. Both written and visual elements, such as drawings, can be used in order to complete this final task. In this way the subject of environmental sustainability incorporates both science and art.

As well as these wonderful curriculum events that engage students both within their school and in their wider community, IH Timisoara has been doing many environmentally positive actions in recent years. For example choosing publishers like Oxford University Press which have committed to using 100 per cent of paper for printed publications that is certified as sustainable, and Pearson which has a documented plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions. IH Timisoara both recycle and use recycled ink cartridges, and there is a plan in place to calculate the school’s total carbon emissions to target improvements.

For all these actions, IHWO is delighted to award IH Timisoara the “Protecting our Planet” environmental sustainability badge.