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.

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.