Young climate detectives from Wels visit ESA in Rome

"We need a physics project in the 5th grade of the Realschule branch," explains Tobias Pennetzdorfer, who supervised the students, "because the Gymnasium branch doesn't have physics in this grade, but in the 6th grade, everyone is taught together again." To ensure that the Realschule branch doesn't get miles ahead, the 5th grade students are doing project work. This year, Pennetzdorfer chose the ESA competition, which was only being held for the second time - "I learned about it during a training course at the Ars Electronica Center in Linz." And the time-consuming projects paid off.

Changes in Wels floodplain forest areas

The winners, Mauia Mahou Zada, Esra Asar, Siria Neumüller, and Hadise Zulajeva, whose attention was drawn to the flood disaster in Lower Austria, investigated the floodplain forests of Wels and sought to determine the changes they had undergone in recent years. They compared and analyzed ESA satellite images and data from the European Earth observation program Copernicus between 2017 and 2024. The conclusion: Urban development, soil sealing, and climate change are measurably increasing the city's flood risk. The jury explicitly recognized the project's competent handling of scientific data and its thoughtful approach to renaturation and awareness-raising.

"It was great to have the opportunity to work with real satellite images at school," said Neumüller. What impressed her during the visit to Rome was "that we learned even more about how satellite observations are conducted" and "that many people from different countries were there." All European winners of the competition were invited to visit the ESA research facility.

Satellite data and farmer survey

Second place in the Austrian competition also went to the BG/BRG Wels. The "Rubber Boot Gang," consisting of Narin Bozkurt, Viktoria Peter, Charlotte Rodenbach, Martin Holzinger, and Joudi Swied, examined the temporal development of precipitation in the Wels Heath and its consequences for agricultural yields. "We analyzed satellite data and also sent a survey to farmers," explained Narin Bozkurt. "Surprisingly, little has changed in the past three or four years," noted Martin Holzinger. He hadn't anticipated such a lack of precipitation at the end of February and beginning of March.

After the successful premiere, more students from BG/BRG Wels will surely participate in the "Climate Detectives" competition. "I won't have a 5th grade class next year, but I've already recommended the competition to a colleague," said Pennetzdorfer, who teaches mathematics and physics, with a smile. As Climate Detectives, students investigate a local climate problem and exchange ideas with ESA experts. They are supported by their cooperation partner, the Climate Alliance Upper Austria.

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