The water initiative continues to grow.
The Janusz Korczak School in Altenstadt has become the fourth Upper Hessian member of the international Blue Community water movement. In an interview, initiator Claus Wilkens talks about the potential of water education and explains why it is important to promote the fair and sustainable use of this resource.
Today, Wednesday, the Janusz Korczak School in Altenstadt becomes Germany’s first Blue Community primary school. Three years ago, the Wolfgang Ernst Grammar School in Büdingen was the first Blue Community school in the world. This was followed by numerous projects by students and volunteers focusing on water. Claus Wilkens, water ambassador, primary school teacher and head of the Büdingen Blue Community working group, is one of the driving forces behind the initiative.
In this interview, he talks about what the initiative has already achieved in the region and why it is important to start with the younger generation.
In May 2022, the town of Büdingen and the Wolfgang Ernst Grammar School (WEG) became the first in Upper Hesse to join the Blue Community during the visit of Canadian water activist Maude Barlow. What has happened since then?
For example, there have been three Büdingen Water Days: in 2024, the vocational school, the Schule am Dohlberg and the grammar school organised a two-day event with 1,300 students – a first that was strongly supported by the school principals. The upper school at Schule am Dohlberg, for example, organised a quiz with experiments. The advanced economics class at WEG developed reusable bottles and sold 55 of them there. Many teachers were impressed. On this year’s World Water Day, the guided tours of the sewage treatment plant and the elevated tanks attracted a surprising amount of interest. The working group has a stand at the Gallus market. Büdingen is now well known within the Blue Community.
In Germany, clean drinking water simply comes out of the tap. Why is the Initiative’s work important?
The more changes there are due to climate change, the more heavy rainfall and periods of drought, the more competition there will be for water. At the WEG, there is a compulsory elective course called Blue Community and Democracy Workshop – in fact, participation in democracy is an issue that is originally linked to the provision of services of general interest for water. Even in Germany, it is not yet clear who has priority over water – agriculture, industry or private households.
How has the Blue Community working group in Büdingen developed?
The working group has 15 members, including students, teachers, former students, a farmer and town councillors. Jochen Heyermann, operations manager for gas and water supply at Büdingen’s municipal utilities, is doing a lot. The staff at the utility company also think the initiative is great and support us. Jan Eckhardt, who teaches the compulsory elective course at the WEG, is also very involved. The course is very popular, with more than 20 students currently taking part. All in all, a group of people has come together who are passionate about the subject – and they are all active in their own fields. As a result, the cooperation between the working group, the schools and the city works really well.
