About the project
After the more theoretical foundation in school a field trip to a plant (wind turbine, hydropower plant or similar plants) shall be carried out to give the students an idea how such a processing plant works in real life.
In late January the presentations will be repeated to a larger audience, this time not in class but on a special day dedicated to sustainability in school with lots of other activities.
Throughout the theoretical part of the project the topical information is supported by methodical and linguistic features, which are organised as follows:
1. Introduction
-
Brainstorming
-
Mind mapping
2. Looking for information on the Internet
-
Reading comprehension
-
Structuring and assessing information
-
Translation
-
Summarising texts
-
Free writing
3. Writing an informative, specialised text
-
Structuring texts
-
Using technical vocabulary
-
Creating an appealing layout
4. Creating a blog
-
Presenting the results of the internet research to the public
5. Presentation in class
-
Use of appropriate media
-
Free speech
-
Body language
http://renewables1.blog.com/ (The planning stage)
http://renewables2.blog.com/ (Solar energy)
http://renewables3.blog.com/ (Wind energy)
http://renewables4.blog.com/ (Biomass)
http://renewables5.blog.com/ (Hydropower)
http://renewables6.blog.com/ (Geothermal power)
http://renewables7.blog.com/ (Conventional energies)
The “Day of Sustainability” at the BBS Naturwissenschaften Ludwigshafen on 28. January 2008 came and went. What is left is the impression of a very diverse, informative and opinion-leading day for those who were open to shape their perception of our environment and of how each of us is able to participate in designing our own future.
After a short introduction into the topic of sustainability for all classes, initiated by the headmaster and members of the panel for ecological issues and sustainability, the students could visit different workshops:
A member of “Earthwatch” brought pictures from our earth via computer live into the classroom and explained the interrelation of human actions and the climate. Without giving a specific opinion facts and figures, illustrated by gorgeous pictures, were revealed and left the students quite impressed, now being able to form their personal view on the topic.
A tour was offered where insights into the topic could be engrossed and one group visited a waste incinerating plant nearby, presenting the knowledge they gained to the plenum, illustrated by statistics and charts.
Among these workshops the BOS 07 Vz repeated their presentations (see links above) for a class of certified technical assistants (BTA 07a). This time in German, supporting their talks with Powerpoint. The picture below was taken after the presentations were finished.
The BOS 07 Vz in the auditorium of the BBS Naturwissenschaften in Ludwigshafen
After the talks the students of both forms took aspects of the presentations under consideration and worked out what they could do themselves to stop the development our climate undergoes at the moment, starting with minor things like switching off electrial devices when they are not needed and ending with actions which have a major impact on the environment.
A closing event helped to assembleand structure all the impressions which the different groups collected throughout the day and to draw conclusions which kind of impulse each student would take home on this day.
A day in Landau
To get an impression of the place new energies have in broader practical contexts, of the creation, use and application of renewable energies, we went to Landau on Friday, 7th March 2008.
First we stopped by the “Zoo Landau”.
Zoo Landau
A priority at Landau Zoo is the educational work of the school for the protection of species and animal welfare, Landau, called “Zooschule” or Zoo School. More than 15,000 children attend the school each year. The Zoo School stresses learning through playing, acting and experiencing topics like the protection of the environment, species and animal welfare. It is the first school in Germany to employ up to 40 students of different teacher professions and Master students of educational science, to run the classes independently and according to an up-to-date way of teaching. The students are trained carefully in special seminars for their educational work at the Zoo School, where they find a large field of practical work in their future profession. They may therefore enrich their professional, personal and social competences. Since a new building was opened in September 2005, new topics and methods are included in the every day teaching about the protection of the environment.
The manager of the zoo, Dr. Jens-Ove Heckel gave us very interesting information about a current project, carried out to improve the CO2 balance of the zoo in order to work “CO2 neutral” in the future. A first report of the zoo’s starting position and initial suggestions for improvement is already created but not published yet.
Dr. Jens-Ove Heckel with the BOS Vz after his spontaneous lecture
The basis for the calculations for one year were among others
-
The consumption of natural gas and electricity of the year 2006
- The fuel consumption of the zoo’s vehicles
- The number of visitors, differentiated into different groups, e.g. paying visitors, members of the zoo’s circle of friends, visitors of the Zoo School, groups of children etc. and the way they travelled to the zoo.
- How and from which place the employees come to work every day
- business trips (distances covered by different means of transport)
Of course absolutely exact figures are impossible to create. The data were summarised in a CO2 calculator. To make up for the CO2 produced by the zoo altogether, a certain amount of trees would have to be afforested.
The zoo tries to save CO2 by obtaining renewable energy and using local sources for raw material respectively, benefiting from the cooperation with the local forestry office. Refurbishing the stables built from wood is supposed to save energy as well. Furthermore they have built a photovoltaic facility on the Zoo School’s roof to win solar energy. So they are able to use this kind of energy and not to use the common sources. They also think about using their biomass and erecting a block heat and power plant to win more renewable energy. Lastly within the scopes of an international project for the protection of species it is planned to afforest the local woods. The efforts to avoid the production of CO2 are completed so far by cooperation with the public transport that is used by about 90 % of the zoo’s visitors.
The BOS Vz at the sea lions’ basin
We thank Dr. Jens-Ove Heckel for his very spontaneous lecture on the zoo as such and the CO2 programme in particular, carried out without any preparation at about minus three degrees Celsius and supported by a lot of supportive informative literature. It was a great benefit for the project we carried out ourselves.
More information can be gained at http://www.zoo-landau.de/
Of course visiting the zoo did not only mean to learn about renewable energies. For sure. Because of the terrible cold that day not everyone in the class was very happy about the trip. We had a close look at all the cages and artificial habitats, moving through the entire area (among other things to keep warm, most successfully in the monkey house at an average temperature of over 25 degrees Celsius). Nevertheless some of the zoo’s inhabitants seemed to enjoy themselves - at least the ones who had access to a working infrared lamp (left) or those who finished their anger management course successfully (picture below).
After a short midday break the second issue on our agenda was the geothermal power plant in Landau.
The power plant in Landau as it can be seen from the street
Together with other guests we were welcomed by Peter Hauffe who is responsible for the power plant in Landau. He illustrated the theoretical basis by means of a very enlightening powerpoint presentation and led the group of visitors through the plant.
The geothermal plant in Landau was the result of a 2003 study that was supposed to assess the possibilities of producing energy by geothermal means at certain locations of the Upper-Rhine valey. Hot water layers 3000 metres below the earth’s surface are used to generate heat and warmth. The water temperature in a depth of 2500 metres is about 150 degrees Celsius, in 5000 metres about 200 degrees Celsius. This energy is never going to cease.
In the hydrothermal geothermal process warm water is pressed to the surface through a drill hole and is cooled down in two steps. In the first part the warmth is used for producing electricity in a special process. In the second step the residual heat is transferred into the community heating system. The cooled water is then conducted back into the earth’s layer it originally came from.
At http://www.geox-gmbh.de/de/Downloads.htm you can see how the power plant works and find intersting details about the whole project.
Some figures to illustrate the information:
Electrical power produced: 3.0 MW
Heat capacity: 6,0 - 8,0 MW
The project was started in 2004 and cost about 20 million Euros.
The first drilling took 63 days. The hole was 3300 metres deep, deflection 33 degrees.
The second drilling took 56 days with a depth of 3170 metres and a deflection of 25 degrees.
First circulation test: March - May 2007
First test: November 2007
Beginning of the operation: 21st November 2007.
The water temperature is 160 drgrees Celsius with a flow rate of 50-70 litres per second.
About 6000 households benefit from the power plant with an average capacity of 3800 kWh each year (electric current). 200-300 households run their heating through warmth from the plant with a capacity of 3-6 MW annually.
Consequently 6000 tons of CO2 are saved each year.
All in all …
… some have not quite been in the know what to expect…
… but in the end most seemed to have the feeling to be part of something really striking.
Though the real striking thing this day was the new attitude each member of the class developed as regards our environment and sustainability as such. It seemed to have been a successful project we carried out. This new environmental conscience was manifested when we parted at the car park near the geothermic power plant.
But see for yourself …
The all-embracing essence of all this…
… naturally for each of those who worked on this project is a different one. Here are some personal comments:
Till
What I have taken along?
Aside from my new and all-embracing knowledge about the different power plants and their functionality and usage I now have a better idea how to reduce the carbon dioxide production in the private households. I can much better be aware of the so-called carbon dioxide-leaks and how to correct and guard against them.
What was good?
Just the idea to collect information about renewable energy sources and their power plants and to present them is a good business. But then to link a zoo with it and therefore to show how to ally the carbon dioxide emissions in it I think is great. To get ahead of it is just possible by the visit of the geothermal power plant in Landau including the lecture there.
What is enhanceable?
I think just enhanceable is that the information, which was raining on the students on the lectures from the director of the Landau Zoo and the plant manager of the geothermal power plant are difficult to afresh. Even on the Internet is less information to use as a seminar paper or to author a memorandum. So many technical information that would have been very interesting to know was not alluded any time.
What could be made better?
To accord some information to the students from the power plant company and the authority of the zoo in the run-up to the excursion would be better. The director of the zoo sent some information to the teacher which I have never seen. Of course the information is on the webpage http://renewables.blog.com/. But it is mostly useful to have all the information we brought together for the private application on hard copy.
Andreas H.
The day of sustainability
The day started with our PowerPoint Presentations of renewable energies. We presented it to another class. Afterwards the other class asked a few questions about the presentation and gave us an announcement how they liked our presentations.
fter that we were at the presentation from Mr. Fliegner from German watch. I think this was the most interesting part of the day. He told us much over the climate warming and showed many pictures. Pictures that showed the change of glaciers that are getting smaller and smaller, and the temperature rise worldwide.
I think it was very good, because he only showed us the pictures and gave us facts about them. So everyone has to think about it and think about his own behaviour.
At least all classes were together in the auditorium of the school, and talked about the experience of this day.
Zoo in Landau
First the zoo-director told us something about the zoo and what the zoo-administration does for the environmental protection. They want to build a biomass-plant to produce their own electrical current. After that we walked through the zoo an saw many funny animals.
Geothermal plant in Landau
After the zoo we visited a geothermal plant. At the beginning the director of the plant showed us a presentation, we saw pictures from the construction and an animation about the function of a geothermal plant. After the presentation we walked through the plant and saw it in reality.
Andreas B.
Zoo Landau and geothermal power plant
What we did in Landau
At first we went to the zoo in Landau. Just at the beginning of our visit we were given an introduction about the energy production of the zoo. The information was given to us by the director of the zoo in Landau Dr. Jens-Ove Heckel , which was great because he was spontaneously ready to give us information about the energy production of the zoo. He told us the goals of the zoo for the future. They hope, that they can produce most of the energy which is needed in the zoo for heating for example by their own, so they don’t need to pay for energy. First goal is to minimize carbon dioxide to a minimum. For example do they use better isolation materials for reducing the loss of heat in the animals’ compounds. This is something everyone can do at his or her house. It’s not only good for our environment but also for our wallet.
After the information from Mr. Heckel we went through the whole zoo and watched all sorts of animals. First I was in the ape house where different types of monkeys have their home. Also in this house were many aquariums with all types of fishes and turtles and also terrariums with snakes and spiders. After the ape house I went outside to the different animals. There were all sorts like goats, cheetahs and bears. But the bears were not awake yet from their winter sleep so we couldn’t watch them. Most impressive and funny were in my opinion the sea bears, which made all sorts of tricks and funny things. They looked like children, which play together.
Next we went to the geothermal power plant Landau which has started to produce energy last year and which is the first of its kind in Germany. After we arrived in the power plant we were first given an introduction by the director. He made a PowerPoint presentation, which showed very well how a geothermal power plant works. After we were given the information about the whole process we walked through the facilities where we could see how the whole process works. They use the terrestrial heat to heat up water that changes into steam. This steam moves big turbines which generate the energy. We could see that the whole plant is very new because not everything was ready and worked like it should. But they think they are on the right way. And everything, which saves our environment, should be tested because it can only be positive.
After our tour through the power plant we ended our excursion on which I learnt a lot for the future and drove home.
Marcus
My impression of the day in Landau and in the geothermal power plant in Landau
I found the trip to Landau was interesting and we had a lot of fun. In the Zoo we heard the story of the Energy supply and how it works. They have the plan to build a BHKW in the zoo to produce their needed energy by their own from the animals’ dung or something like that. We also see the animals in the zoo and I found this was a not such a big zoo but you can see all animals a zoo had to have. Then we went to the geothermal power plant. We heard a lecture about this building. It began to work not so far away and the technology is new so they have to find out how it will work and if it is good for nature. There are two holes in the earth in everyone a pipe is going into the earth for kilometers, there where it is warm. In one pipe they bring cold water into the earth that flows trough the rocks and is getting warm. Then it arrives at the second pipe that is a few kilometers away from the other and climbs high because of the pressure from the water. On the top it flows trough a heat exchanger and warms up gas that flows to a separate pipe around. This gas flows to a turbine because of the pressure from the extension and the turbine produces electricity. With that 5 MW electricity is produced yet. They want to optimize this procedure so that the power plant produces more than 5 MW but they have to research how to do this. All in all it seems that that technology is promising but it can be built only in special regions in which the geothermal conditions are good enough to produce enough electricity. I think that the project must go on and it must be found out how to optimize that procedure and get enough electricity to replace other energy suppliers like coal or oil. Research and practical application is the best way to find new ways to protect the earth from dying by human hands.
Simon
t first we arrived at the Landau zoo where we were welcomed by a guy, I think he was one of the board of management. He explained us about the energy situation and problems that the zoo has to deal with, and how the want to solve this problem with renewable energies like solar equipment or external insulation. After that we got the chance to discover the amazing variety of exotic animals in the landau zoo.
The next step of our journey was a small trip to the city were we had lunch. After that we visited the geothermal power plant, our main point of that day. First of all the engineer who planned this project showed us a presentation how they made their first experiment drill three kilometres in the ground to find hot spots over 160 degrees, where they could heat up the water to a temperature they need to make power station run. Further he told us that they needed two parallel drillings, because in one hole they pump the water with high pressure on the other the heated water comes up and you can use it. But the water is not hot enough to use it directly for a turbine which is in my opinion the main problem of this system, because you need two heat exchangers and another fluid with a lower boiling point, which makes the whole thing from my point of view too ineffective.
After the presentation the engineer displayed our group the drill spots and the inside of the powerhouse, which reminded me back to the days when I was working in a powerhouse. All in all it was a nice day which opened my mind a little bit more for the possibilities we have to solve the energy problems of our future.
Sven
My review about the sustainability project:
First the project started with the development of the PowerPoint presentations by each group in an intensive work time on the Internet and other media. Every group had a topic that dealt with renewable energy sources. After the working period the PowerPoint presentations were presented in front of the class. Subsequent to the presentation the class discussed about the style of the presentation and if all information was shown correctly. After the discussion about the presentation the group became constructive suggestions from the class.
The second gist of the sustainability project was the participation at the sustainability day 2008 from the BBSN. The groups presented the topics in front of a class of biological-technical assistants (BTA). After each presentation the group answered the questions of the BTAs. In the course of the sustainability day 2008 the class also attended a discussion over what everybody can advance in the every-day life to save energy and CO2 emissions. We also heard a sparkling speech over the global warming and the effects of it. The speech included actual sat pictures of all climate zones.
Finally we visited the geothermal energy supply GEO X in Landau/Pfalz and heard a presentation about the concept of the geothermal energy. After the presentation we were offered a guided tour across the energy supply.
Over all, the project was very interesting and thought-provoking. In the project we had the chance to develop and adapt our skills for example in free speech in front of a class.
Thomas
The sustainability project
At the beginning of the project, each group worked out a PowerPoint Presentation. Each topic of these presentations had to do with renewable energy and was presented in front of the class. After that we talked about the presentations, the style, the information and the quality. After the discussion about the presentation the groups were offered constructive suggestions from the class.
The next part oft the project was the sustainability day. At this day we presented the topics again in front of a class of biological-technical assistants (BTA). After that we answered questions of the class and we talked about the CO2 emission and how we could cut down these emissions and save electricity. Also at we heard an interesting speech about the global warming and the horrible environmental effect.
Finally we visited the zoo in Landau/Pfalz and heard a presentation about the concept how they want to save electricity. After that we went to the geothermal power plant and listed to a speech about it and how it works, so after the presentation we got a guided tour across the energy supply. Furthermore some of us prettified the car of Andreas Hobe (see amazing picture).
Overall the project was very interesting and I learned much about renewable energy and saving electricity. Further we could upgrade our skills in free speech and presentation.
Bastian
My impressions of the renewable energy project, our school trip to Landau and the Day of Sustainability
First I think that all was very interesting and thanks our class teacher we now know a little bit more over the renewable energies. At the Day of Sustainability they told us what we can do to help and showed us that the earth’s mineral resources will be exhausted within the next years and that the climate change does not stop if we don’t do anything.
In Landau we visited the zoo and the geothermal power plant. In the zoo we heard a speech about the plan to build a BHKW to produce energy for the zoo’s own demand. Then we have seen all the animals in the zoo. The zoo is not the biggest one, but it was great. After a short break in Landau we met again in the geothermal power plant. We visited a presentation over the plant and how it works. The plant produces five MW. It pumps cold water into the earth through a pipeline. In the earth the water is heated up, then the water flows up the other pipeline to a heat exchanger. There gas warms up, which flows around a separate pipe. This gas flows to a turbine because of the pressure from the extension and the turbine produces energy. They want to optimize this procedure but they have to research how to do this.
I think that is the correct way to save our planet and the mineral resources so we can reduce the CO2 output. I don’t know what we can do better.
As the teacher I allow myself the luxury of the last word.
First of all I would like to thank the ten students of my class who endured a long-time project that dealt with a topic of which I was not really sure that it would “strike a chord” in them. Again and again they were confronted with the topic and even a door-slamming teacher, boiling with rage, couldn’t deter them from finishing the task. Thank you especially for showing your presentations at the Day of Sustainability, although I know that you said you wouldn’t like to. So much for manipulation and mock-democracy (I hope you can forgive me)…
I really hope that each of you was able to draw some kind of “personal essence” out of the project. Of course it is naïve to expect you to change your habits here and now and become a Greenpeace activist immediately (very little joke), but if the consequence of engaging in the topic of renewable energies is a thought-provoking impulse, I would be very glad. Just having some fun with the English language would also do.
Finally I simply must say that you as a group were not an accidental choice for this project. Your group had “the right structures” for the task. You really have a nice way to deal with each other, are able to support each other, work out complex tasks and have a really healthy sense of humor. I enjoyed working on the project with you - and believe me - it was not only you who was learning here.
As usual I found a short quote which was part of my personal essence from this project and I think in some way or the other it might also be true for you:
You see things; and you say, “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say, “Why not?”
George Bernard Shaw
Back to http://english-for-runaways.blog.com
