Carbon Challenge 2024: Sunflowers made the difference

The “Carbon Challenge” school competition, initiated by CEPLAS, Bayer AG and the INVITE research institute, took place for the third time. Six schools competed against each other in the challenge and addressed the question: How much climate-damaging CO₂ can be absorbed from the air by plants on an area of one square meter within three months?

The task was to sow a parcel of one square meter and harvest the maximum amount of biomass after almost three months. The participants had the opportunity to try out different plant species and cultivation concepts in order to achieve the highest possible biomass. The student groups of different ages developed a lot of creativity, growing the crops on several levels or building their own small greenhouse. All teams kept a plant diary in which they recorded everything they did on the plot.

First place went to the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium from Langenfeld. The winning group decided to grow sunflowers and was thus able to harvest the largest amount of biomass.

Second place went to Gymnasium Holthausen from Düsseldorf. The students opted for a mixed crop and made creative use of the square meters: They cultivated several levels in order to utilize the space as efficiently as possible.

With the “Carbon Challenge”, CEPLAS, Bayer and Invite want to raise awareness of the importance of plants in carbon sequestration and at the same time inspire young people to think scientifically and find sustainable solutions.