Nowon-gu named 2026 Environmental Education City by Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy

Seoul's Nowon-gu has been designated a "2026 Environmental Education City" by the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy.

The Environmental Education City designation is a system established under the Act on the Promotion and Support of Environmental Education, under which local governments are evaluated on their environmental education infrastructure and track record. The designation lasts three years, during which the selected city systematically advances policies and projects to promote community-based environmental education.

Nowon-gu plans to use the designation as an opportunity to connect the district's diverse environmental education resources and human networks, building a system in which learning about the environment translates into everyday action.

To that end, the district will pursue three strategies under the vision of "Nowon — a sustainable environmental learning city built together through connection and practice": strengthening the foundation of a sustainable educational community, building residents' capacity to practice carbon neutrality, and expanding access to environmental education.

Over the next three years, environmental education will be extended across the community through a phased roadmap — foundation-building in the first year, diffusion and consolidation in the second, and advanced development and self-sufficiency in the third.

The first strategy focuses on strengthening the educational community by linking schools, neighborhoods, local institutions and civic organizations. The district will regularize meetings of the Nowon Environmental Education Center's steering committee and the social environmental education promotion council to reinforce cooperative frameworks, and will expand joint projects with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's Northern District Office as well as local libraries, youth centers and welfare facilities.

Capacity-building workshops will be held to raise the professional standards of environmental education instructors and interpreters, alongside advanced seminars on integrated climate and environmental education grounded in Big History. The district also plans to publish annual outcome-sharing reports and resource collections to spread best practices and ensure that on-the-ground educational experience feeds into policy proposals.

The second strategy centers on building residents' capacity to practice carbon neutrality. The district will operate a "Our Village Carbon Zero Living Lab," in which residents design their own carbon-reduction measures and verify their effectiveness. Alongside this, it will run a Green Lifestyle Practice School and a Carbon Neutrality Partner School program, and support everyday action through a "10 Pledges for Carbon Neutrality."

The third strategy aims to expand access to environmental education. The district will offer tailored programs for young children and teenagers, including activities linked to the Nowon Astronomical and Space Science Center, and will extend outreach education to underserved groups such as people with disabilities and multicultural families.

Resident-participation programs — including a Jungnangcheon citizen science project and community gardening initiatives — will also be promoted. District-specific facilities such as the Nowon Eco Center, the Jungnangcheon Environment Center and the Nowon Energy Zero Housing complex (EZ Center) will serve as environmental education hubs, ensuring residents can access environmental education within their own neighborhoods.

Nowon-gu is the only carbon-neutral pilot city in the greater Seoul metropolitan area, advancing carbon neutrality policies across urban sectors including architecture, energy and transportation. In September, the district held the "2026 Nowon Carbon Neutrality Residents' Declaration," in which about 1,000 residents participated, and announced a "10 Carbon Neutrality Agenda" covering expanded youth participation in climate policy and support for urban solar energy installations.

"The Environmental Education City designation is recognition of the environmental education achievements that residents and the community have built together," Nowon-gu District Mayor Seo Jun-o said. "Over the next three years, we will further solidify the district's environmental education foundation and create conditions in which every resident can learn about and practice environmental stewardship, realizing Nowon as a sustainable ecological city."