E.ON Support for the Best Institutional Green Projects

Even the youngest children are asking questions about climate change today. Not only do they understand the problem, they also want to do something about it. The Earth Champions competition launched by the E.ON Hungária Group builds on this energy, transforming children's concerns into joint, joyful action.

According to the press release, the energy company that operates the electricity network in Transdanubia, Pest County and Budapest is announcing the 'Champions of the Earth' competition for the fourth time, which has now become one of the country's most successful sustainability programs for kindergartens and schools. It draws attention to the fact that it is possible to think differently about a green future: instead of climate anxiety and passivity, the 'Champions of the Earth' achieve real results through active, playful, and cheerful community cooperation.

The aim of the program is for kindergarten and school communities—children, teachers, and parents together—to initiate tangible changes in their own environment. In recent years, the initiative has reached one in ten kindergarteners and schoolchildren in Hungary, and thousands of children have experienced that sustainability is not an abstract concept, but a shared experience and success.

The ideas of the champions so far have been more diverse than anyone could have hoped for. Behind the numbers are stories. In Szekszárd, a housing estate has been transformed into a pollinator-friendly "pre-fab paradise," where children have brought life back to the concrete by planting flowers and building insect hotels. In Bajna, an outdoor classroom was created where nature is not a subject but the learning space itself. In Taksony and Ajka, the little ones arrive at kindergarten every day on two wheels, on balance bikes, and their knowledge of traffic safety is rapidly developing.

In some places, children can "taste" nature, while in others, barefoot trails and sensory gardens help them reconnect with the soil, plants, and seasons. In Budapest, a compost-heated greenhouse proves that waste can be a resource, while at a high school in Budaörs, a community oven and communal bread baking have brought the students together.

In Visegrád, a monitoring station is being built to protect protected bats, while in Vác, the country's first institutional sponge garden helps to retain rainwater locally. In Decs, a kindergarten chicken farm and model farm have been launched, and in Kunpeszér, a climate-friendly forest is being planted with saplings equal to the population of the village.

These projects are not one-off gestures. They build communities, shape attitudes, and transform the local environment in the long term.

1200 ideas, 42 dreams realized – and even more possibilities…