1. IES Camp de Túria, Llíria, Valencia, Spain. Comenius Project SURVEY ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT We have interviewed 370 school mates from 12 to 19 years old on their environmental behaviour at school and at home . The colours reflect how our mates are “environmentally-friendly” about the different issues.

2. At school Do you usually keep your classroom clean? Never ………………….. 8% Sometimes ………….. 67% Always ………………... 25 % Our survey clearly corresponds to what we can see every day in our classes… Do you use the recycling bins? Never ………………….. 26% Sometimes ………….. 49% Always ………………... 25 % These are quite disappointing answers since there have been recycling bins in the hall and classrooms for at least three years.

3. Do you turn off the tap in the bathrooms? Never ………………….. 8% Sometimes ………….. 9% Always ………………... 83 % Most bathrooms have automatic taps, so the answers may not be so relevant after all… When you smoke, where do you usually throw your cigarette end? I don’t smoke ………………….. 89% On the ground ……….……….. 9% In the bins ……………………... 2 % Smoking is not allowed neither indoors nor outdoors although some students try to smoke avoiding the teachers’ strict surveillance.

4. Transport How do you usually come to school? By public transport ………………….. 50% By car / minicar ……………………... 17% By motorcycle ……………………….... 1% On foot …………………………………… 32% How do your parents go to work? By public transport ………………….. 1% By car ……………. ……………………... 83% By motorcycle ……………………….... 2% On foot …………………………………… 1% How many cars do you have in your family? One …………………….………………….. 25% Two ………………..……………………... 57% More than two .……………………….... 18% Most students from our town come to school on foot. About 50% of our students come from other towns but use the bus service provided by the school. A few are taken by car by their parents on their way to work. On the other hand, the poor public transportation network leave their parents no option but to use their own vehicles.

5. At home While you brush your teeth, do you turn off the tap? Never ………………….. 2% Sometimes ………….. 14% Always ………………... 84% In the bathroom we definitely are environmentally-friendly. It seems the problem of water shortages is affecting our habits. Do you usually have a bath or a shower? Bath ………..………….. 9% Shower …………..….. 91%

6. When you leave a room, do you switch off the light? Never ………………….. 1% Sometimes ………….. 33% Always ………………... 66% Do you use air conditioning at home? Yes …………….………….. 63% No ………………………… 37% In winter, if you feel hot… you open the window ………………….. 11% turn off the heating …………..……….. 99% It can be improved although almost everybody do not leave lights on when a room is empty. Our torrid summers are turning air conditioning as usual as heating systems. Unfortunately more and more people are buying it. Building regulations should regard this issue in the design of housing. Since this part of Spain enjoys mild winters, in our area heating is not centralized so it is easy to control heaters individually.

7. Do you / your family use the recycling bins? Never ……………….…….. 28% Sometimes ……….…….. 44% Always ……………….…... 28% This has been quite an unpleasant surprise, although the results are similar to the answers about recycling bins at school. Do you throw litter, cigarettes, chewing gums on the ground? Never ……………….…….. 49% Sometimes ……….……... 46% Always ……………….…... 5% There is a constant struggle in our school to improve this issue. Unfortunately some students’ bad habits make it seem most of them can’t behave, although they really are a minority.

8. Nuclear energy This is also a big issue in Spain where there is a controversy about extending the active life of nuclear power stations since there is a ban on building new ones. What do you think about nuclear energy? I agree. I think it’s a good source of energy …………………….…….. 3% I agree, even though I know the risks connected with it ….…….. 24% I don’t agree with it ……………………………………………….…………... 28% I don’t have an opinion ………………………………………………………. 45% Reflecting what is happening in our society, there is a draw. However the point is almost half the students consider they do not have enough information to make their minds up on this issue.

9. As a conclusion, we can do much more to improve our environmental habits. However, we are advancing at giant leaps in this area, especially when we compare the situation of our country just a decade ago.