Seocho-gu and Kia held the "2026 Carbon-Zero Environmental Playground and School Commute Campaign" for fourth- through sixth-graders at Banwon Elementary School on Thursday, featuring 10 hands-on booths covering resource recycling, ecology and energy.
Seocho-gu held the "2026 Seocho Carbon-Zero Environmental Playground and School Commute Campaign" at Seoul Banwon Elementary School on Thursday, giving students a chance to learn about environmental protection and carbon neutrality through play and hands-on activities.
The Carbon-Zero Environmental Playground is a public-private environmental education program run jointly by Seocho-gu, the Seocho-gu Environmental Education Center and Kia. It is designed to help students explore a range of environmental topics — including resource recycling, ecology and energy — in an accessible and engaging way, while building the skills to practice carbon neutrality in their daily lives.
The program is funded through Kia's corporate social contribution donations. It launched in 2024 at Seoi Elementary School, continued in 2025 at Woncheok Elementary School, and was held for the third time this year at Banwon Elementary School.
The day began at 8:20 a.m. with a carbon-neutrality awareness campaign at the school's rear gate, drawing about 100 students in grades four through six. The participants spread the message of environmental protection to arriving classmates and teachers, encouraging small, everyday actions toward carbon neutrality.
The environmental playground then opened across the school's athletic field and basketball court, where students could see, make and experience things firsthand. The playground ran 10 hands-on booths across three categories — resource recycling, ecology and energy — offering a range of age-appropriate environmental education activities.
At the resource-recycling booths, students made keychains from sea glass and plastic bottle caps, experiencing how discarded materials can be transformed into new objects. The ecology booths had students craft bird whistles and plant their own potted plants, deepening their appreciation for nature and living things. At the energy booths, students built solar kits and wind-powered boats and tried a solar cooker, learning the principles and practical uses of clean energy in a hands-on setting.
Alongside this, a "Personal Cup Day" campaign encouraged students and staff to cut down on single-use items by bringing their own reusable cups. Those who brought a tumbler or personal cup received a free beverage, reinforcing the message that small everyday choices can make a real difference for the environment.
Seocho-gu and Kia have maintained a partnership in environmental education since 2023, running programs that include mobile environmental education sessions and the Carbon-Zero Environmental Playground. At this year's event, 20 Kia employees volunteered on-site, helping operate the booths and supporting students' activities. Their direct participation alongside financial backing added deeper meaning to the public-private collaboration, with a company and community working together to support environmental education for the next generation.
Seocho-gu District Mayor Jeon Seong-su said the event was "a meaningful occasion where the community, schools and businesses came together to build an environmental education ecosystem for future generations." He added that the district would "continue to expand diverse hands-on environmental education programs so that the next generation can naturally learn and practice the importance of environmental protection."
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