'Turn off engines while waiting': A green proposal from students

A simple question, “How can we make our school greener, cleaner and the air fresher at the end of the school day?”, inspired Nguyen Phuong Nghi, a fifth-grade student in Class 5A7 at Tan Yen 2 Primary School in Bac Ninh, to launch an initiative at her own school.

On September 7, at the closing ceremony of the program “Children and Youth in Action for Clean Air and a Sustainable Future,” Phuong Nghi received the First Prize in the individual category of the “I Tell the Story of Air” creative challenge.

The program was jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and UNICEF Viet Nam.

Notably, Phuong Nghi’s award-winning story did not begin with a far-fetched idea. She looked at what happens every day outside her school gate and proposed changes to encourage her classmates, teachers and parents to take action.

A small initiative to reduce vehicle exhaust at the school gate

At the end of the school day, Phuong Nghi noticed that a large number of motorbikes and cars gathered outside the school gate, with some vehicles even driving directly into the schoolyard. The resulting fumes and dust made students feel uncomfortable and short of breath. Based on this observation, in her role as class monitor, she proposed a “Green Week with My Family” plan to her homeroom teacher and the school’s Youth Union supervisor.

The plan was quickly put into action through a team of young environmental ambassadors. Each week, students used the school’s youth radio broadcasts during recess to promote topics such as keeping the school clean, caring for trees, avoiding littering and encouraging parents to turn off vehicle engines while waiting for their children.

The young ambassadors also reminded parents not to drive onto school grounds and to switch off their engines while waiting. Students encouraged their families to walk or cycle for short trips and staged short plays promoting clean air for the whole school.

Phuong Nghi also created a “Memory Box” to collect photos of students cleaning the school, caring for trees and reminding parents to turn off their engines. The photos and stories were shared on the school’s website and social media to reach more parents.

For Phuong Nghi, the greatest reward is seeing the initiative, launched last year, continue to make a difference. Students have become more proactive in picking up litter and caring for trees, while parents increasingly turn off their engines and no longer ride onto school grounds.

Her mother, Tran Thi Thuy, who is also a teacher at the school, said teachers encouraged students to observe their surroundings, identify everyday environmental problems and find their own solutions rather than simply submit entries to the competition.

The family also reinforces these lessons at home, where Phuong Nghi sorts waste, disposes of it properly and joins her family in cleaning local roads and lanes. This consistency between school and home helps turn environmental awareness into everyday action.

Students turn green ideas into action

Tan Yen 2 Primary School is not alone. Bringing environmental issues into students’ daily lives has also helped make the competition engaging at many other schools.

At Nguyen Du Secondary School in Thai Nguyen, nearly 2,000 students completed and submitted entries. Principal Hoang Thi Hoa said the school is located in an area with several major industrial parks, giving students daily opportunities to observe how production activities affect the environment, particularly air and water quality.

These real-life observations are connected with classroom knowledge. Integrating environmental protection into lessons and extracurricular activities helps students understand the causes and impacts of pollution and proactively seek solutions.

According to Hoa, the school encourages students to take practical steps within their abilities. Some have switched from motorbikes and electric bicycles to regular bicycles, both for exercise and to reduce emissions. Students also take part in planting trees at school, at home and in nearby forested areas. Simple actions have gradually become green habits and fostered a stronger sense of responsibility toward the community.

Hoa was particularly impressed by what students expressed through their entries. With limited time in each lesson, teachers cannot always hear every student’s thoughts. The competition provided another space for students to voice their views and propose their own ideas.

Many students actively used information technology and AI tools, filmed and edited their own documentary-style videos, or told environmental stories in their own ways. According to Hoa, this shows that knowledge is beginning to move beyond the page and become concrete awareness and action.

The school plans to maintain and expand effective initiatives while extending environmental awareness campaigns to parents and nearby factories and businesses. Stronger links among schools, families and production facilities are expected to further improve awareness of protecting air and water quality and community health.

From switching off a motorbike engine at the school gate and sorting household waste to choosing bicycles or planting a tree, students’ stories show that environmental education can begin with the everyday issues they see around them.