In this paper, we present a compelling case study of a group of elementary school children who, after participating in a structured environmental education program aimed at reducing their school’s carbon footprint, chose to independently continue and manage the initiative on their own. This remarkable instance of student-led climate action offers important insights about the long-term impact of environmental education programs. Specifically, we seek to understand what motivated these children to take such initiative and how they successfully sustained their efforts beyond the formal intervention.

The longevity of environmental and sustainability education’s impact on participants' conceptions, worldviews, agency and action is a key research concern in the field of Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) (Petrou & Korfiatis 2022). Many scholars emphasize the importance of examining the lasting effects of environmental and sustainability initiatives over time (Fisher-Maltese & Zimmerman, 2015). While short-term outcomes, the persistence of these effects and their evolution into sustained, self-directed action remains an open question (Ardoin et al. 2017).

Existing literature provides some indications that participants can continue to benefit from environmental programmes even after formal engagement has ended. These benefits often manifest in individual behavior changes, such as adopting sustainable habits in daily life (D’Amato & Krasny, 2011), or in the development of pro-environmental attitudes and awareness. For example, research by Farmer et al. (2007) suggests that one year after a field trip, many fourth-grade students retained vivid memories of their experiences and demonstrated an increased awareness of environmental issues. However, these cases typically involve passive retention of knowledge or incremental behavioral shifts rather than proactive, collective action.

What makes our case study particularly unique is that it does not merely showcase individual habit changes or continued environmental awareness. Instead, it highlights an extraordinary instance in which young children autonomously decided to take responsibility for implementing and sustaining an environmental initiative. This level of self-direction suggests the presence of key characteristics such as agency, an internal locus of control, empowerment, and intrinsic motivation—elements that are less commonly explored in the context of elementary school students and environmental education.

Given this context, our study seeks to answer two fundamental questions:

a)     What motivations and competencies drove these children to independently continue and manage the carbon reduction programme?

b)    What specific characteristics of the original programme fostered the development of these motivations and competencies, enabling long-term engagement?

Understanding these factors is crucial, as it could provide valuable insights into how ESE programmes can be designed to not only instill knowledge and short-term behavioral change but also cultivate a deeper sense of responsibility, leadership, and action-oriented agency in young learners. If certain elements of the initial programme contributed to the students’ sustained engagement, these could serve as important design principles for future interventions aimed at fostering long-term environmental stewardship.

By analyzing the children's motivations, the competencies they demonstrated, and the enabling features of the original programme, we hope to contribute to the growing discourse on how ESE can move beyond temporary interventions and toward cultivating lasting empowerment. Ultimately, this research underscores the potential for young learners to become active agents of change, even in the absence of formal structures, and highlights the importance of fostering independence, critical thinking, and ownership in environmental education initiatives.

Setting and Participants During the 2022–2023 school year, fifth graders at an urban elementary school participated in a program aimed at reducing their school’s carbon footprint. This initiative was developed and implemented by the second author of this paper in collaboration with a school teacher. The first stage of the project (September–December 2022) included activities based on Oxfam Education’s (2022) teaching resources on climate change education. Students learned about the climate crisis and studied successful environmental actions at national and international levels. This stage also included sessions where participants developed skills and learned methods for calculating their school’s carbon footprint. In the second stage (January–June 2023), students designed and implemented a plan to reduce their school’s carbon footprint, encouraging students from other grades to participate. At the end of the school year, the participating students decided to continue the active phase of the project (i.e., implementing actions to reduce the school’s carbon footprint) in the following school year (2023–2024), this time without adult guidance. We interviewed 17 sixth-grade students (11 boys and 6 girls), aged 11–12 years old, all of whom had participated in the carbon footprint reduction program in both the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years. Eight of the students were from migrant backgrounds. Data Selection Data were gathered through focus group interviews conducted in late May 2024, just days before the end of the 2023–2024 school year. Each focus group consisted of 4–5 students and the group interviews lasted approximately 40 minutes. The interviews were based on a framework of ten questions, exploring: How the students decided to continue the program. Their reasons for sustaining the initiative. How they organized themselves and collaborated with the broader school community. The actions they implemented. Their feelings and reflections on running the program independently. Data Analysis All interviews were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was conducted following an iterative approach (Cohen et al., 2018). The authors independently coded the data, identified emerging themes, and categorized the findings. Any inconsistencies were resolved through discussion.

A key insight from the students' statements is that the decision to continue the school's carbon reduction programme was entirely their own. They engaged in various activities, including collecting used cooking oil, recycling, turning off lights and projectors, and encouraging car-sharing or walking to school. As one student noted: "We were turning off the lights, and the teachers slowly understood. We even told new teachers, like Ms. Lena, to turn off the projector when it wasn’t needed." Reasons for Continuing the Programme Sustainability as Routine Students highlighted that sustainable behaviors became second nature. The habitual adoption of energy conservation, waste reduction, and eco-friendly practices aligns with findings on behavioral consistency (Arlinghaus & Johnston 2018). Moreover, many students reported extending these behaviors to their homes, influencing their families: "I don’t feel pressure. It’s a habit now. I used to leave the TV on, but now I always turn it off." Pro-Environmental Motivation and Goal Achievement Some students were motivated by tangible results and competitions, such as the "cleanest classroom" initiative. Seeing measurable progress reinforced their commitment: "Last year, we saw that it worked—we reduced the carbon footprint. We wanted to continue and reduce it even more." Positive Emotions and Pride Students expressed pride and satisfaction in making a difference: "I feel good because we’re helping the school—and if we try harder, we can help the world." A Sense of Agency The original programme fostered decision-making, autonomy, and competence, enabling students to take ownership (Korfiatis & Petrou 2021). Aligning with participatory environmental citizenship their engagement empowered them to act collectively and with confidence (Derr et al. 2018). By creating space for student-led initiatives, the programme nurtured lasting environmental responsibility and agency.

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