The City Council of Lleida hosted this Thursday the signing ceremony for the commitment of Lleida's Sustainable Schools for the 2026-2027 academic year, a special edition commemorating the program's 20th anniversary. The initiative, launched in the 2006-2007 academic year as Agenda 21 Escolar, has involved hundreds of students and teachers in projects for a more sustainable city.
The event, held in the Paeria's Council Chamber, was attended by the deputy mayor and councilor for Sustainability, Begoña Iglesias, and the councilor for Education, Xavier Blanco, along with representatives from the eight participating educational centers. These centers presented their environmental projects and formalized their commitment for the academic year.
Begoña Iglesias highlighted that these twenty years demonstrate that "sustainability is not just an idea, but a way of living, learning, and transforming our environment." She emphasized the importance of "small actions by many people" and the centers' work in areas such as biodiversity, school gardens, waste reduction, water and energy saving, and sustainable mobility. Iglesias noted that the program is "a magnificent example of how collaboration between schools, students, families, and the City Council yields results," thanking the teaching staff's involvement and the young people's protagonism.
The eight participating centers presented their projects for this academic year. Escola Pràctiques will focus on biodiversity with the project Exploradors de la biodiversitat. Escola Frederic Godàs will promote environmental education and waste reduction, while Escola Riu Segre will work on recycling, responsible consumption, school gardens, and energy saving.
The Maristes Montserrat School will continue with its school garden through the project Fem créixer l'escola sostenible: hort, ciència i comunitat. The Santa Anna School will dedicate its project to water. The FEDAC Lleida School will address waste reduction with Repensem. Reduïm. Revolucionem (3R). The L'Estonnac-L'Ensenyança School will promote small gestures with Petites accions, grans canvis, and the Manuel de Montsuar Institute will implement measures for a more sustainable center, encouraging bicycle use and reducing electricity consumption.
The Sustainable Schools program offers training, experience exchange, support, and guidance to centers for developing projects in school gardens, composting, climate emergency, conscious consumption, waste prevention, biodiversity, and the greening of schoolyards.
The commemoration included the creation of a collective mural with photos and drawings from the centers, and each school received a native shrub to plant in its schoolyard. The Paeria reaffirms its commitment to continue supporting these educational projects.
