In Caimari, children generate electricity with their own muscle power

In Caimari, children generate electricity with their own muscle power

Energy BYD Challenge brings hands-on environmental education to the village

On Tuesday morning the football pitch next to CEIP Ses Deveres in Caimari filled with voices, squeaking tires and the occasional ring of the village church bell. Around 58 fifth- and sixth-grade pupils from Caimari and Selva had arrived, accompanied by their teachers — aboard a school bus, as is still common in the countryside here.

The event was part of the Energy BYD Challenge tour through Mallorca's villages. Six stationary bicycles were set up on the pitch where the children could try out how muscle power is converted into electric current. Phones and laptops lit up, small lamps turned on, and the principle became tangible: energy does not only come from large installations but also from movement.

Next to the pedal course there was a creative station where the children drew poster designs for the challenge's next stops. In quiet audiovisual areas topics such as sustainable mobility, paired with reporting such as Ports Plan Shore Power — Who Pays for Mallorca's Clean Ferries?, the basics of renewable energies and forest management were explained in an age-appropriate way. The whole setup was practical: a BYD electric car and a small electric tricycle for carrying tools were open for inspection — tangible examples that provoked questions and encouraged reflection and linked to wider electric conversions like A man from Bremen, his boat and the new heartbeat: how a sailboat in Mallorca quietly went electric.

The organizers rounded off the program with a recycling workshop, offered sports activities and provided a catering station with regional fruit. As a participant gift, each child was allowed to take a pepper seedling home — a small task to continue at home and talk with their family about what was learned today.

Mayor Joan Rotger was also on site. He made the municipal administration's stance clear: investments in sustainable energies are part of local planning, from street lighting to the renovation of public buildings. Similar investments are documented in Cala Millor modernizes sports facilities — opportunity or burden for the community?. Such actions are meant not only to inform but to empower pupils to share knowledge within their families — an idea that could be heard repeatedly on the village square during conversations between teachers and parents.

Notably positive was the mix of partners: alongside the municipality of Selva, various initiatives and companies collaborated — including institutions from the energy sector, regional supporters, plant nurseries and manufacturers of electric vehicles. This cooperation made clear that environmental education in Mallorca works best when administration, business and educational institutions pull together.

For Mallorca this is more than a friendly event: it is a practical way to spark early interest in renewable energies and link everyday actions like recycling or saving energy with concrete experiences. Children who have learned how difficult it is to power a device with their own strength gain a different sense of the value of energy.

At the end of the morning the children left the pitch with flushed cheeks, some still excited from pedaling, others with the seedling in hand, ready to garden at home. Such small, immediately tangible moments linger: in the coming months parents, neighbors and teachers will hear the children's stories — and that is exactly the kind of spread that sparks sustainable change.

Outlook: More stops like this in smaller communities would strengthen the network of understanding for local energy solutions. Practical activities, combined with concrete examples like electric vehicles or making electricity visible through pedal power, are a recipe that works in Mallorca — straightforward, sunny and with a touch of the Tramuntana at your back.

The Energy BYD Challenge in Caimari showed that morning that environmental education does not have to be didactic. It can be loud — with children's laughter, bicycle bells and the rustle of pepper leaves — and still achieve something important.