Silesian University of Technology welcomed Young Eco Heroes
- News
They are young, they know English perfectly well, and ecological challenges are not a problem for them.
We are talking about a group of sixth-graders from Primary School No. 4 in Mikołów, who in cooperation with the Silesian University of Technology and two other universities: Technical University of Crete from Greece and Hochschule Mittweida from Germany took part in the international project Young Eco Heroes. On April 27th, 2026, the results of their work were summarized in the Municipal Public Library in Mikołów.
The Young Eco Heroes project is an initiative of EURECA-PRO, the European University of Responsible Consumption and Production, to the consortium of which the Silesian University of Technology belongs. It assumes building pro-ecological attitudes of the youngest persons. That is why the initiative was directed not to students, but to school pupils. The project was implemented simultaneously in three countries, by three different partner universities, which included pupils of friendly schools.
– The aim of the joint project with pupils was to disseminate scientific knowledge about sustainable development in society and to inspire young people to actively participate in shaping a greener future – said Dr Anna Waligóra, director of the Centre for Modern Education at the Silesian University of Technology, responsible for the implementation of the project on behalf of the university, which invited the Primary School No. 4 in Mikołów to participate in the project. Participation in the project was voluntary. However, pupils quickly found themselves ready to start working on a pro-ecological project.
– The condition was very good knowledge of English, but the young people coped perfectly with this challenge. Their language skills and courage could be envied by many elders. As a school, we take part in international projects, we regularly go to English-speaking countries – England, Ireland, or Scotland, so these language competences were not a big problem – admitted Marta Łaciak, director of the Primary School Nb 4.
Each of the European groups was tasked with implementing a project related to sustainable consumption and production.
Children from primary school in Mikołów decided to organize workshops on waste treatment and giving them a second life. Their project “From Waste to Art – Re-purposing Waste” was implemented using Project-Based Learning (PBL), which allows to develop key competences of the future, such as creativity, teamwork, problem solving and effective communication – also in English.
“Children learnt the basics of sustainability, waste use and the generation of products that can be reused. They had to work together in teamwork, show creativity and organization” – said Anna Waligóra.
On behalf of SP 4, the children were coordinated by Katarzyna Pakura, a teacher of Polish and English:
“It was a very interesting experience. We started work in September. The children presented their idea to organize ecological workshops for younger pupils in our school. They presented their plan to the coordinators at the Silesian University of Technology and began to work – recalls Katarzyna. The children even organized a fair to collect money to buy materials and teaching aids to conduct classes, which they finally conducted in the second and third grades of our primary school.
Katarzyna Pakura has no doubt that working in an international project is an experience that will pay off. The children felt that their ideas could be realized, and they also gained faith in their own abilities.
In total, 13 pupils participated in the project on the Polish side. The participants worked in groups on the project plan, its implementation and finally presentation of its effects to a group of international experts.
“I coordinated the cooperation between the three universities and schools involved in this project. We organized hybrid meetings, which were to prepare children to present their project to peers from Greece and Germany. We can confidently confirm that young people handled this very well” – added Dr Anna Wolny, from the Silesian University of Technology.
Results of their work
The highlight of the project was a trip to Germany.
At the Mittweida Hochschule, project participants from all schools presented the results of their work, which for many of them was the most stressful moment in the whole several months of work. Although stressed, the children were very satisfied and felt that it was an amazing adventure for them. When they shared their impressions at the meeting that summed up the project, they did not hide their joy that they could participate in this initiative.
“It was nice to play the role of teachers, especially in a topic like ecology. In my opinion, this is a really important topic, that we all – older and younger – fight for our planet” – said Tomasz Królicki.
“We were simply explaining to the children why it is worth taking care of the planet, why it is necessary at all, and how important it is to rework and give new life to clothes and things. We explained how much water we need is used to produce various things” – added Kinga Sypień.
Nadia Baran also stressed that cooperation was important in the project:
“We all shared some ideas, we did the so-called brainstorming, and we chose the best ideas to implement” – she said. “And our trip to Germany, – it was a great experience. We met people from different countries and established interesting contacts” – she added.
Activity Summary
On April 27th, 2026, a meeting summarizing the project took place at the Municipal Library in Mikołów.
The theoretical introduction entitled “From EURECA-PRO to Young Eco Heroes” together with the quiz for students was led by Dr Anna Waligóra and Dr Eng. Anna Wolny. Then there was a discussion panel with the participation of pupils, their tutor – Katarzyna Pakura and representatives of the Silesian University of Technology. The next point of the event were interactive workshops in the field of green chemistry conducted by Dr Eng. Agnieszka Siewniak, Dr Eng. Anna Wolny and a student of the Faculty of Chemistry, Ms. Anita Procek.
The event was attended by the authorities of the City of Mikołów, the Head of the Faculty of Education, the Directors of the Mikołów schools, parents and teachers of pupils and young people from Primary School No. 4.
The project’s students’ trip to Germany to the Mittweida Hochschule was possible thanks to the financial support of the sponsor, Konstantin Bönisch, co-owner of AGRO DRISA GmbH Dresden. The company actively cooperates with the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Silesian University of Technology in the area of sustainable, ecological building materials.
The Young Eco Heroes project was organized by the Silesian University of Technology for the first time. As the initiative met with great enthusiasm of children and educators, the next edition is being prepared.
The project under the aegis of the European University on Responsible Consumption and Production – EURECA-PRO – will be continued in the next academic year, and the teams will meet at the Technical University of Crete, Greece.
