--- title: "CEIP Antonio Machado weather station project 2.0, Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz; Winner at EU Climate Education Day 2025" sdDatePublished: "2026-09-08T10:52:00Z" source: "https://education-for-climate.ec.europa.eu/education-for-climate-day-2026-group/topic/school-observatory-sustainable-futures-weather-station" topics: - name: "education" identifier: "medtop:05000000" - name: "climate change" identifier: "medtop:20000418" - name: "science and technology" identifier: "medtop:13000000" - name: "environment" identifier: "medtop:06000000" locations: - "Cádiz" --- CEIP Antonio Machado weather station project 2.0, Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz; Winner at EU Climate Education Day 2025 From School Observatory to Sustainable Futures. Weather Station Project 2.0 Eucational Ecosystems for Climate Learning From School Observatory to Sustainable Futures Weather Station Project 2.0: Building Educational Ecosystems for Climate Learning From European Recognition to "From School Observatory to Sustainable Futures" Pepe Torres – Meteorological Observer and Collaborator at AEMET Divulga, ( https: Ambassador of the European Climate Pact, ( https: The project presented and detailed in this document has been developed at the CEIP Antonio Machado in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) and aims to turn meteorological and environmental observation into a meaningful educational experience. Over the last few school years, the school's weather station has evolved into much more than a scientific instrument. It has been fully integrated into the educational activities, enabling students to observe, measure, record, and analyze real data from their own environment. The project connects meteorological observation with scientific research, STEM learning, environmental education, and the school garden. Currently, students work with real data on air temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, and present weather, using them to understand atmospheric phenomena and their relationship with the environment. This experience received significant European recognition in October 2025, when the project was selected as a winning initiative at the European Union Climate Education Day , under the category related to GreenComp in STEM teaching and learning. See project link: https: We did not—and do not—understand this recognition as the end of the project, but rather as the starting point of a new and fascinating stage. To this end, we decided to ask ourselves a new question: How can an educational experience developed in a single school become a transferable model capable of connecting different educational centers? And we found the answer, which is based on three core ideas: developing an educational infrastructure, building an educational ecosystem around it, and connecting different school observatories through a common methodology. The project thus transitions from an experience developed in a single center to a model with the capacity for progressive growth. An Educational Infrastructure and a Learning Ecosystem At the heart of "From School Observatory to Sustainable Futures" is the idea that a weather station can become an educational infrastructure . This infrastructure is not composed solely of measuring instruments. It also includes the methodology, the educational activities, the school spaces, the students, the teachers, and the environmental data generated by the observatory. The school environment thus becomes a living laboratory , where environmental phenomena can be directly observed and investigated. The project maintains the meteorological observations developed so far (observation of air temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, and present weather) and expands the field of observation with two new variables: We are convinced that the incorporation of these two new measurements represents a major evolution of the project. Thus, the weather station will progressively transform into a school environmental observatory . However, one of the most innovative elements will be the way these new measurements are incorporated. How do we plan to do it? Students will participate in technology workshops developed in the schools themselves, where they can design, assemble, program, and test the sensors that they will later use to make observations. The CO₂ and UV sensors will be coupled to a micro:bit board, which the students will program in a simple manner to obtain the measurement values of both variables. The following sensors are intended to be implemented to complement the measurements and variables of the weather station: Environment Science Expansion Board V2.0 for micro:bit from DF Robot Adafruit SCD-30 Sensor - NDIR CO₂ sensor combined with temperature and humidity measurement. Notably, this CO₂ sensor uses measurement technology similar to world-reference observatories and offers measurements in parts per million (ppm). CO₂ (carbon dioxide) measurements will allow students to investigate the evolution of this gas concentration in classrooms and other school spaces, relating it to factors such as student and teacher occupancy and ventilation. And, of course, it will allow us to establish comparative studies of observed measurements against averages taken in international reference observatories such as Mauna Loa, Hawaii ( https: ) and Izaña in Spain ( https: As a final project for the schools' students, a carbon footprint calculation (personal, school, high school, etc.) is proposed in collaboration with the Carbon Footprint Association (Asociación Huella de Carbono), a partner of the European Climate Pact: https: UV measurements will allow the study of ultraviolet radiation's evolution throughout the day and across different seasons, as well as the comparison of areas directly exposed to the sun with shaded areas. In this way, students will not only be users of the scientific infrastructure but also builders and programmers of a part of it. In summary, the process will follow a sequence based on: OBSERVE → DESIGN → BUILD → PROGRAM → MEASURE → ANALYZE The infrastructure thus becomes simultaneously a learning tool and a learning object . We are convinced that a genuine educational ecosystem develops around it, where students, teachers, science, technology, mathematics, digital competence, the school garden, scientific instruments, data, and educational activities are interconnected. The goal is not simply to teach students concepts about meteorology, climate, or sustainability, but to ensure they learn by observing and researching the environment they live in . From an Observatory to a Local Network What is our primary focus in this quantitative and qualitative leap we want to make? "From School Observatory to Sustainable Futures" will transition from a single school observatory to a network of educational observatories . The CEIP Antonio Machado will remain the reference school and the backbone of the project. During the past school year (2025-2026), the IES Lola Flores , also in Jerez de la Frontera, developed the same observation program using the methodology previously worked out at CEIP Antonio Machado and explained here: https: This experience allowed us to prove conclusively that the model could be transferred to other educational centers. During the 2026-2027 school year, at least two new educational centers in Jerez de la Frontera are scheduled to join this new experience. Thus, the initiative will initially feature four schools: CEIP Antonio Machado , as the driving school and backbone. Operating since the 2021-2022 academic year. IES Lola Flores , which already participated during the past academic year (2025-2026). Two new educational centers joining during the current academic year (2026-2027): IES Asta Regia, IES Andrés Benítez, and possibly IES Álvar Núñez. These four centers will develop a common observation program and use the same methodology , developed and experienced initially at CEIP Antonio Machado (since 2021-2022) and IES Lola Flores (2025-2026). This will allow data obtained in the different observatories to be comparable. At the same time, each center will maintain its own characteristics, its environment, and its own research questions (adapted to each school). The network will thus combine: A COMMON METHODOLOGY + FOUR DIFFERENT LOCAL ENVIRONMENTS This combination will enable new research pathways. Students will not only be able to study the data obtained in their own school but also compare it with data obtained by students in other schools. They will be able to ask: Why are different temperatures recorded in different parts of the city? How do the characteristics of the environment influence these measurements? How does CO₂ concentration vary between different educational spaces? How does the UV index change according to location and time? What relationships can be found between the different observed variables? The participating schools will thus move from making independent observations to participating in a shared scientific and educational experience . Jerez de la Frontera can become a true distributed environmental laboratory , where different schools contribute observations made by their own students. Sharing Data, Methodology, and Experiences The creation of a network of observatories makes it necessary to develop mechanisms to share the data and knowledge generated. For this reason, the creation of a common digital platform for participating schools is under study. This platform would be created by secondary school students from the participating high schools as part of their curriculum in computing, technology, and computer science. This platform would be developed in the following steps: Step 1: Create the Data Collection Sheet (Google Forms + Google Sheets). Step 2: Publish the Sheet so that Grafana (an open-source web application) can read it. Step 3: Create a free Grafana Cloud account. Step 4: Connect Google Sheets with Grafana. Step 5: Create the Visual Dashboard. The platform would have four fundamental elements: DATA + METHODOLOGY + RESOURCES + EXPERIENCES Schools will be able to share and visualize their observations and compare the data obtained across different points of the network. However, the platform is not intended to be just a database; we want it to also capture the observation methodology , the protocols used, the instruments, registration procedures, and the educational activities developed. Likewise, it would allow sharing technology workshops, research carried out by students, obtained results, and educational experiences from each school. In this way, the platform could become a model transfer tool to continue growing and strengthening the "network" in the future. A new school wishing to join the network would not have to start from scratch; they could draw on the work and experiences already completed. That is, they could access an experienced methodology, know the instruments used, consult educational activities, and learn from the experiences of schools already part of the network. The network will progressively become a learning and practice community based on environmental observation and knowledge sharing . At the end of each school year, we plan to organize an educational gathering in the style of a Science Fair where all participating students can share their experiences and work. We will seek institutional collaboration from the Jerez Town Hall Education Department (Delegación de Educación del Ayuntamiento de Jerez), the Provincial Council of Cádiz (Diputación de Cádiz), the Regional Government of Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía), etc. From Jerez to Europe: A Model with a Scalability Horizon The immediate objective of "From School Observatory to Sustainable Futures" is to consolidate the local network of four educational schools in Jerez de la Frontera. This first phase will make it possible to verify the performance of the common methodology, develop the new CO₂ and UV measurements, improve technology workshops, strengthen collaboration between students and teachers, and explore the possibilities of the shared platform. However, the project is designed with a broader vision. The network of at least four schools is conceived as a first implementation of a potentially scalable model . Once the local experience is consolidated, the methodology and resources developed can be adapted and transferred to other schools and other territories. In the long term, the project envisions a scalability horizon of building a future European network of school environmental o