Not the adults, but school children and the very little ones from a kindergarten won the Planegger Environment Prize 2022. The prize of 2,500 euros – again donated by the municipal councilor Peter von Schall-Riaucour (Pro Planegg and Martinsried) – went to a class at the Planegg primary school and three groups from the municipal kindergarten at Josefstift. The prize money of 5,000 euros was actually set again, but the jury, made up of local councilors and administrative experts, advocated halving the price and adding the remaining 2,500 euros to the environmental prize for 2023, also to make it more attractive. That’s exactly what will happen, said Schall-Riaucour, so the environmental prize 2023 that will be announced soon will be 7,500 euros.
At the award ceremony in the auditorium of the town hall, patron mayor Hermann Nafziger (CSU) said that this year’s selection of the award winners was entirely in his interests, since “the young people and children have to be introduced to the big issue of climate change”. In this context, Nafziger called for “flexibility” from parents and teachers. Angelika Lawo, teacher at the Feodor-Lynen-Gymnasium, used large photos to show how the school garden group used the prize money won in 2021: “We usually don’t have our own budget for creating our two school gardens with biotopes,” she said. The 5000 euros were all the more welcome. For example, you could invest in garden tools and create the smaller of two lakes. A larger lake is to be added in the current year.
After a musical interlude by Alex Bender’s band – behind whom is Fabian Nafziger, the mayor’s son – Peter von Schall-Riaucour awarded the two prize certificates. He mentioned some applicants who got nothing – including the Urological Clinic Planegg, which despite its impressive environmental commitment as a commercial company was not allowed to take part in the competition, as well as a citizen of Krailling. Above all, Schall-Riaucour called on “the Planegger clubs” to apply in the future, for him “the number of entries was not yet satisfactory”. He announced changes for the current year.
And then the children stormed the stage with their teachers. A thousand euros went to the groups Mouse, Bear and Hedgehog of the Josefstift and their educators Edina Kukulies and Susanne Ritter. According to the motto “Even the little ones can do a lot”, care was taken throughout the year to only use public transport, to use paper sparingly, to avoid or reuse packaging and to pay attention to water consumption. Today’s fourth class of the Planegg primary school and their teacher Alexandra Berghofer received 1500 euros for their “Upcycling” project week in the third grade. For a week, the students dealt with the topic of waste and recycling.