Children can give driving a go with mini-Teslas

Ökovifalu is the only kindergarten in the world with a self-sustaining mini town in the yards. Two young Hungarian event organisers are behind the idea, the first such kindergarten opens its gates in August, reports szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu.

Two twenty-somethings came up with the brilliant idea of establishing a mini town in the yards of an already existing kindergarten. The goal is to teach small children (aged 3-6) through experience about the ways of being environment-friendly and environment-conscious. The materials used at the Nyáregyháza (Pest county) kindergarten are all recycled, the mini town will be self-sustaining and will use renewable energy.

photo: Alexandra Kovács / youtube

Alexandra Kovács and Péter Weigert are both part of the Nyáregyháza Kindergarten’s directorate, and since protecting the environment was always important for them, they decided to show small children how important nature is. Ökovifalu will have roads, buildings, houses, a city hall, a small shop, a roundabout, a parking lot and of course, road signs. However, the main attraction of this kindergarten will be the electric mini-Teslas. Children will be taught the rules of traffic with the help of these cars.

Except for a few holding elements, the town is built from recycled materials: the 340 square metres road line is made of plastic mixed with synthetic resin and the five houses from 95% recycled waste. The roofs will be equipped with solar cell and wind turbines, and there will be stationary bicycles with which you can generate electricity. Alexandra and Peter are hoping to have a polytunnel, where vegetables and fruits can be grown.

It was last December when the directorate decided to build a kindergarten-village, and a month later Alexandra, her mother, Anna, and Péter came up with the idea to make it eco-friendly. Alexandra and Péter immediately started looking for sponsors, making use of their pasts and experiences as event organisers. The city leading of Nyáregyháza, Strabag, MOL, Telekom, Cortinaplast, Tesla, Captain’s, and the famous Rippel brothers are just a few of their sponsors.

Last weekend the digging of the base of the roads has started, with the help of the Kovács family and the kindergarten’s directorial board. They believe they will be finished by August. Alexandra hopes that the experiences the children will gain at the kindergarten will shape their perception of the world and they will spread the word about the importance of environment protection so that in 20-30 years, we will live in a better place.

photo: https://www.facebook.com/okovifalu/

Since the idea of Ökovifalu has started gaining popularity, more and more villages and towns are requesting the pair to help build other kindergartens as Ökovifalu. The two are very happy about this, hoping that it will become popular even outside Hungary. “We’ll planning to open one or two kindergartens per year, but if it’ll be only five new Ökovifalu’s that we’ll be able to finish in the next 10-15 years, that’ll still be a success, as more and more people will get our message” – says Péter.

As they still need help, Alexandra and Péter are organising a charity run on the 22^nd of July, with the goal of collecting roughly 5 thousand euros. The participants will get a medallion from Captain’s, made from recycled wood.

Alexandra and Péter are planning to keep the kindergarten open during weekends as well, so that those who are interested, can try it out and even learn a couple things. The kindergarten will open on the 28^th of August.

featured photo: youtube.com

Source: szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu