Son Servera commits to sustainability with the Energy Challenge

The first schoolchildren to participate were pupils from the Na Penyal school in Cala Millor. They travelled the more than two kilometres that separate the CEIP from the coastal area of Plaça de Sant Joan on foot along the cycle lane, to add steps towards sustainable mobility. The aim of the Energy Ariya Challenge is to tackle air pollution and promote renewable energy. It is about planting a seed in these young people so that the desire to fight for a better planet is born and grows in them.

The central square was divided into different activity areas, where all the participants rotated throughout the morning. They all had a common goal: the environment. Six exercise bikes were set up, connected to a device. Each time they pedalled, they generated green energy. The aim was to get as many people as possible to participate. This was displayed on computers that showed, to the minute, how much energy had been generated.

There was also a recycling awareness workshop in which the schoolchildren could demonstrate whether they had learnt their lesson about sorting waste properly. They took part in a race to see who could deposit the waste (depicted on postcards) in each of the prepared categories the fastest and in the most correct way. In the mobility workshop, a video on sustainable mobility was shown and they were able to answer a series of questions to see what they had learned. As if it were a game, questions were asked and had to be answered with a ‘true or false’. Phrases such as ‘with our mobility habits we can make our city better’ or ‘electric vehicles do not smoke or make noise’ were some of the questions.

Another of the activities generated a lot of expectation as there was a lot at stake: designing the poster for the Energy Ariya Challenge for 2026. And there was a lot of creativity in the new logos proposed. At 11 a.m. the 60 pupils from the fifth year primary classes of the CEIP Jaume Fornaris took over all the activities while the other schoolchildren had a snack of locally sourced fruit.

At the end of each activity came the prize: a plant of tomàtiga de ramallet, which each of the participants could take home together with the gift from the Town Council: a recycling bin for organic waste, which was presented by the different councillors of the government team: Maria Ángela Brunet (Environment), Neus Galmés (Heritage) and Marga Bonet (Social Services and Citizen Participation).
These values defended by the Energy Ariya Challenge were shared by Son Servera Town Council.

The mayor, Jaume Servera, did not miss the chance to pedal. He said that ‘our assessment of the day is very positive. The youngest participants are becoming aware of the importance of climate change, of committing to sustainability and defending the environment. They have been able to see how to recycle correctly as well as promoting sport. These children have left with an awareness of the need to commit to clean energy’.

From the area of the Environment, the councillor emphasised that ‘we have really enjoyed being part of this event. We think it is a way of educating the children in raising awareness of caring for the environment and also doing it from a fun perspective’. She also added that ‘the fact of handing over this seedling means that they acquire a responsibility to take care of the plant so that it can bear fruit’.
For her part, the councillor for Education, Maribel Sansó, emphasised that ‘it is a very dynamic activity. Children learn that their involvement is necessary, that they have to reduce, recycle and reuse to protect the environment’. As it is a physical activity, the councillor for Sports, Raúl Cardoso, stressed that ‘we combine sport with the environmental aspect. We have also managed to make the centre more dynamic with a different proposal’.

The schoolchildren demonstrated very good habits and, prior to these activities, everything related to sustainability is studied in the classroom. This was emphasised by two of the teachers who accompanied the children, Petra Maria Jaume and Antònia Planisi. ‘In a visual and practical way they discover how to move towards clean energy or how to recycle.’ In fact, at the Jaume Fornaris primary school, work has recently been done on a renewable energy project.

All this activity, which has filled the centre with life, has been possible thanks to the Town Council of Son Servera, the Regional Ministry of Enterprise, Employment and Energy and Nissan Nigorra Baleares, as well as the collaboration of Fundación Saica, TBC, Viveros Can Juanico, Cash & Carry Rotger and Agromart.