Fresh Air, Natural Cooling and Environmental Education for Villa Elisabeth Primary School
When it comes to climate adaptation in education, solutions are needed that act quickly, require minimal space, and deliver tangible benefits for children. That is precisely the rationale behind Green City Solutions’ latest project in Wildau: an EcoBreeze has been installed in the schoolyard of Villa Elisabeth Primary School — the solar-powered evolution of the CityTree.
The installation gives the school not only a visible element of greenery in its outdoor spaces, but also a dedicated zone for fresh air, natural cooling, and hands-on environmental education. Approximately 120 pupils and eight members of staff now benefit from cooled, filtered air in the outdoor areas. The pilot project’s rental model significantly lowers the barrier to entry for schools: the cost for this Brandenburg primary school amounts to less than €0.29 per person per day.
Photo: GCS
Cool Heads Thanks to Moss: Fresh Air & Hands-On Environmental Education
On 10 June 2026, Green City Solutions installed its latest EcoBreeze – the solar-powered advancement of the CityTree – in the schoolyard of Villa Elisabeth Grundschule. The surplus solar energy generated can flow directly back to the school, helping to reduce its energy costs.
The green technology is literally “growing” in the region: with the company’s own moss farm
The installation took place under the watchful eyes of pupils, teaching staff and headteacher Heike Schersching, as well as Anna-Maria von Platen, gescManaging Partner of Private Schulgesellschaft in der Mark Brandenburg mbH Villa Elisabeth, and Benjamin Scholz, Executive Assistant at the same institution. The event demonstrated that the EcoBreeze is far more than an air filter and cooling unit. It serves as a learning environment for children who are discovering how plants grow and what taking responsibility looks like in practice: moss that filters the air, solar panels that generate energy, and sensors that monitor air quality and temperature.
Good education requires good conditions — and that includes fresh, cool air in the schoolyard. The motto of our last school festival, ‘Growing Together,’ reflects our vision of what a school should be: a living place where children, nature, and learning enrich one another. As an all-day school, favourable conditions outdoors are of particular importance — for breaks and physical activity, for breathing space and relaxation, especially on warm days.
The EcoBreeze fits this vision beautifully. It brings genuine greenery to our schoolyard, makes climate adaptation tangible, and shows our children what it means to take responsibility for themselves and their surroundings.
From Class 1b planting their first raised bed to the EcoBreeze on the schoolyard: “a great deal is growing at Villa Elisabeth right now — and that is entirely by design. We are delighted to show our children that nature and modern technology are not opposites” , Anna-Maria von Platen, Managing Partner of Private Schulgesellschaft in der Mark Brandenburg mbH Villa Elisabeth, on the occasion of the installation.
Photos: GCS
Solar Self-Sufficiency as an Innovation Milestone: The EcoBreeze
The EcoBreeze represents the logical evolution of the proven CityTree moss filter. For the first time, Green City Solutions combines its multifunctional, moss-based air filtration and cooling technology with a fully integrated solar power supply. The result is a fresh-air filter that requires no groundwork, can be deployed with greater flexibility and on shorter notice, and — through its surplus solar output — actively contributes to reducing the school’s energy costs.
Within a footprint of just 9 m², the EcoBreeze delivers the air-purifying equivalent of 81 trees, with a cooling capacity of up to 6,500 W/h and a measurable ambient temperature reduction of up to 4° Kelvin (Celsius). Fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and other airborne pollutants are actively filtered through the moss.
School Heat as Reality
The urgency of projects such as this is no abstract projection of a distant future — it is the day-to-day reality making its way, step by step, into classrooms and across asphalted schoolyards. Villa Elisabeth Primary School in Wildau, with its grounds and surrounding environment, represents a positive exception to this trend.
Photo: GCS
According to the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung, BBSR) temperatures in many classrooms exceed 30°C during summer months — particularly on upper floors. . The German Education and Training Union (Verband Bildung und Erziehung, VBE) references studies demonstrating that pupils’ ability to concentrate measurably declines above 26°C. Extreme cases from neighbouring countries illustrate where this trajectory may lead: In France, a primary school was forced to close after indoor temperatures beneath a glass façade reached a life-threatening 53°C.
While schoolyards are increasingly expected to provide spaces for recovery, fresh air, cooling, and alternative learning — partly for this very reason — they are in practice frequently sealed surfaces with little greenery or shade-providing trees, as conventional greening measures are difficult to implement and maintain. Educational institutions such as schools are often located in urban centres, surrounded by roads. To compound the problem, concrete, asphalt and paving can heat up to over 60°C, as reported by, among others, Reuters. Scientific Projections by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), indicate that the heat records set in 2024 are highly likely to be surpassed by 2030.
But Children are among the most vulnerable groups in this regard: They are more sensitive to heat and air pollutants than adults and — as the European Environment Agency emphasises — are unable to protect themselves.
Photos: GCS
A Pilot Project with Exemplary Character
Green City Solutions already has extensive experience with school-adjacent projects in Germany and the UK and has received positive feedback from both parents and children regarding its fresh-air concepts around school environments.
The Wildau project is structured as a rental model — a deliberately chosen approach that minimises financial risk for the school while significantly lowering the threshold for municipal educational institutions. Over a contract term of 36 months, with 128 individuals benefiting from the EcoBreeze on a daily basis, the per-capita cost for the primary school amounts to approximately €8.77 per person per month — or less than €0.29 per day.
That the concept resonates was already evident on 18 May 2026, when Green City Solutions had the opportunity to present the project on-site to pupils and teaching staff alike. The response was unequivocal, and anticipation for 10 June ran high.
“This project is personally one that takes me back to our origins: to the reason why we founded Green City Solutions. Creating clean, cool air for children — in places where conventional greening is barely feasible and the heat hits hardest. The fact that we are now able to do this in our own immediate vicinity makes it all the more meaningful”, said Peter Sänger, CEO and co-founder of Green City Solutions.
“Achieving solar self-sufficiency with the EcoBreeze is a genuine milestone — and I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our team for making it possible. This development reduces the permitting and infrastructure costs associated with our projects, while simultaneously broadening the range of potential applications and further improving our environmental footprint. This is precisely the kind of step forward we come to work for every day” , he added.
Wildau demonstrates: When Moss, Sensor Technology, Solar Energy and educational value come together, the result is more than a technical solution. What emerges is a place that provides fresh air, delivers cooling relief, and at the same time conveys what liveable cities and educational institutions of the future can look like.
If you would like to explore this solution for your school or institution — get in touch with us.
Photos: GCS