Two Breath-Taking Days

After industrious preliminary work within the different project teams, our day of action started on 19th December, 2001. This action was meant as preparation for our demonstration against the clearing of our ancient forests. We spent the morning completing our self-chosen subjects and presenting them to the other students.

We especially liked the huge, multicoloured and waterproof papermonster, our self-made "rainforest biscuits" were absolutely delicious. The waste paper baskets, put up in all classrooms, were used by the pupils immediately.

Thursday started with an blue sky. Most pupils got into the right mood for the demonstration in our gym where our bands were playing. Others listened to a lecture about rainforests. Greenpeace activists put make-up on interested kids. At 9a.m. we started our protest march and we took many self-made banners with us. Finally we arrived at the Main Market and students from other schools and kindergartens joined us.

Daniela Lange and Stefan Kotsch, two school-friends, gave speeches, "rainforest music" was played and we handed over our petitions to the Lord Mayor Volker Doenitz. Despite the biting cold this morning was really exciting and impressive.

Katrin Wiesen and Elisabeth Fuchs

Great Greenpeace Demonstration in Gotha

"Kids for forests" was the motto of Greenpeace and us, the students of the Gustav-Freytag-Gymnasium in Gotha, for two days in December. Our school should do something for the Earth`s ancient forests, we thought and got started on 19 December, 2001.

Long before there were already formed teams and meetings. Special attention was paid to the preparation of a demonstration. Therefore we had our own demo-team, that occupied itself with designing and painting posters. Specially for the demonstration a rainforest song was created, biscuits were baked by our pupils and the media were informed about the demonstration by the media team. With the help of Greenpeace we were able to make files containing all important information for the numerous TV-teams, newspaper journalists and radio stations.

Media were present when on 20th December a collection of signatures was handed over to the Lord Mayor Volker Doenitz on Gotha`s Main Market. Even here we were supported by Greenpeace. A lot of posters, a bear and of course the seven symbolic animals could be used by us.Our papermonster and our papertower went into action, as well.

The demonstration on the Main Market was not meant to be the end of our action for the ancient forests of our Earth. An information stand with all important information about rainforests and environmental awareness is just prepared. Those who cannot visit our stand can get to know interesting facts about the action at our school via internet. The address is: www.kidsforforsts.de.cu and there you will find facts about the present situation in the rainforests among other things.

We did not want to open the people's eyes only, but we started in our school. The teams school administration and school classes examined whether there was used wood from tropical rainforests within our school.

Administration officials assured our students that they will always pay attention to ecofriendliness. In order to reduce the waste of paper the number of copies must be reduced, because nearly 2.000.000 were made by teachers in the last year and that is too much. Waste paper baskets for paper only were put into each classroom also. This means an improvement of our recycling system. Furthermore the teams informed us about wood from tropical forests in our pencil cases and made a price comparison between recycled and non-recycled paper.

In spite of the scepticism of many teachers concerning our project "Kids for forests", students organized both the project days and the demonstration themselves, we were very successful.
We want to thank all persons involved, we want to thank Greenpeace for the great support and the press, that reported about our activities.

We hope that our demonstration was just the beginning for further projects at other German schools, maybe even worldwide.

OUR RAIN FORESTS MUST NOT DIE !

Jana Schneegaß, 11/4 GFG

Kids For Forests

Kids for forests is a project organized by Greenpeace for interested students to do something against the clearing of ancient forests.

On Wednesday different groups of students met, to prepare for the demonstration on the Main Market taking place the following day.

Banners were painted, sculptures were made from waste paper and information about the use of wood from tropical forests was gathered, for example.

When the demonstration started we were very impressed by nearly 2000 children and teachers from kindergartens and schools who joined us. Despite the biting cold our demonstration was a great success. Greenpeace supported us with animal costums of threatened species.

Our Lord Mayor signed an agreement and promised to renounce the use of wood from tropical forests within the whole town council. So Gotha was awordad the title "ancient forests friendly town" as the first in Germany. Lord Mayor Volker Doenitz is going to write a letter to our Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and ask him to support actively the summit in Den Haag. We want to thank our teacher Steffen Möller for his commitment and his leading hand.

Markus Rink, form 6, Gustav-Freytag-Gymnasium Gotha

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For more information about the Kids for Forests Project contact your local Greenpeace office. For more information about Ancient Forests visit the Greenpeace website.