In order to create an understanding of the importance of Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land in
society, school projects have proven to be a suitable means to convey the principles of sustainable land use to a
larger audience. In a project called “Bokli – short for Boden und Klimawandel”, led by Environment Agency Austria, school children learn about the importance of protecting land ecosystems in relation to climate change. The principles of circular economy are explained on the basis of a raised bed with a compost worm box, covering the topics bio-waste treatment, composting, carbon cycle, climate change, plants and soil. For one school year plants are cultivated and harvested in the raised bed, progress documented, research results and knowledge passed on to kids of the same age via peer-teaching. In this period of time children looked after their raised beds, supervised by their teachers. Experimenting, measuring, observing, documenting and critical thinking form the didactic basics. The experts of Environment Agency Austria, the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Security and the Federal Research Center for Forests made sure that the contents and processes were of a high professional quality. The project is funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) through the “Talente Regional “ programme, project duration August 2017 – September 2019.
