The Christian Science Monitor

A school bus with hoofs: How one town embraces sustainability

In the three decades since Jean-Claude Mensch became mayor of Ungersheim, his town has attracted interest from other communities interested in their own independent sustainability initiatives, such as the town's 5.3 megawatt-capacity solar farm.

A blazing sun beats down on Richelieu’s back as 9-year-old Enola pets his mane in the school parking lot. Her brother Nathan jumps behind onto the carriage, the vinyl seats sticky in the 95-degree heat. When around a dozen children are squeezed together, driver Sébastien Bruntz picks up the reins and calls out “Allez, trot!” The rhythmic clacking of hoofs picks up across the pavement.

Richelieu is one of three horses that alternates throughout the week taking children to and from school in Ungersheim. In this town of 2,200 in the Alsace region of France, most kids walk to school. But for those living the farthest out, the horse and carriage is

“We decided to move here”“Somewhere between old and new”

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