More information
Description
Over the last years we had an opportunity to look at civic engagement in several cities while completing our own projects. Among the places we visited, the biggest gap between the aspirations and engagement from the youth and the local government in the matters of environmental protection was visible in Pionki (Mazowieckie Voivodeship). In 2018 a local river was polluted because of a failure at a local treatment plant. To mitigate the pollution, the local youth was helping inform the local population about the ways to limit water consumption. Despite the ambitions of the local young people, the local government does very little to support their initiatives and does not offer permanent support for citizens who would like to act to protect the environment. Governmental grants promoted by the local authorities are often inaccessible to the young people because they require personal financial contribution. We will organize a youth team of activists operating in Pionki, composed mostly of the student councils from three high schools and the Climate Strike. We will hold a series of workshops on designing local projects, creating an association, or creating a climate strategy. The goal of the workshops will be to create a youth vision for the city for the year 2030 and to audit the local government and municipal companies over their efforts to support the citizens in environmental initiatives and adaptation to climate change. The youth will assess current strategies of the city and in consultation with the municipal companies will conduct an audit of their educational efforts, as well as financial support offered for the citizens. We will organize a working visit with our partner in Norway – Klimaalliansen – during which we will learn about changes in habits of the local community to more climate friendly. And during the return visit to Pionki, we will learn about the creation of the communal garden and food self-sustainability in an urban setting.
Summary of project results
In recent years, while implementing projects in various parts of Poland, we had the opportunity to observe social activities in several cities. The biggest discrepancy between the aspirations and engagement of the youth and the commitment of the local government to sustainable development and climate change adaptation was noticed in Pionki (Masovian Voivodeship). In 2018, there was a malfunction at the wastewater treatment plant, which resulted in the pollution of the local river. To mitigate the negative effects of pollution, the youth spread information on how to reduce water consumption in residential areas. Despite the enthusiasm of the young people, the local government offered limited support for their initiatives and did not provide continuous assistance to residents who wanted to act for the environment. Government program competitions promoted by the city office were often inaccessible to the youth as they required personal financial contributions.In response, we formed a team in Pionki consisting of 20 young activists, primarily from the student councils of three high schools. We conducted a series of workshops on local project planning and implementation, establishing an association, creating a climate strategy, and developing journalistic skills. The goal of the workshops was to create a youth vision for the city by 2030 and conduct an audit of the local government and communal companies in terms of supporting residents in ecological actions and climate change adaptation. The youth evaluated the city''s current strategic documents and, in consultation with communal companies, reviewed their educational activities and financial support for residents.We also organized a visit to our partner in Norway - Klimaalliansen, during which we learned about changes in the habits of city residents towards more climate-friendly practices. During the partner''s visit to Pionki, we learned about the establishment of a community garden and food self-sufficiency in urban settings.As a result of our project, a local association called "Green Light" was established to continue the actions initiated by us. Additionally, a sustainable community garden was created, where workshops can be conducted, and sustainable cultivation techniques are observed during maintenance.
.
.
Summary of bilateral results
The participation of the Norwegian partner had a major impact on achieving the project''s goals. Three trainers from Norway shared their experience and conducted workshops for a group of local activists. As a result a new element in the city space was created - a community garden, engaging 20 people in need of support (within the Community Self-Help Center).In turn, a visit to Norway of our local young climate activists and participation in three environmental workshops resulted in the production of 6 short films about social-ecological innovations, subsequently distributed online and to local residents at an open presentation. The experience of the mini-course of field research work in the forest in Norway resulted in the activists conducting similar workshops after their return in their local community. We will continue to work with our partner Climate Alliance, mainly on the topic of food self-sufficiency and the impact of food production and diet on the climate. We will do this in the form of creating and disseminating short videos from the materials we receive, translating selected posts.