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Description
According to our observations, Podlaskie Voivodeship lacks initiatives engaging the youth in protecting the environment. Hajnowski district, where our organization operates, is facing an excessive tree cutting and air and water pollution. A research made by the district describes the issues of low water levels in our aquifers, ground water pollution and the impact of heavy industry and municipal buildings on the air quality in Hajnówka and neighboring towns. After our conversations with school principals and local government officials, we have concluded that the support for young people and the offers to engage in environmental protection initiatives are insufficient. We will engage young people and teachers from 10 schools located in the Hajnowski district in initiatives for the protection of the environment. Each school will have its own volunteering group that will participate in ecological education workshops. The youth supported by animators will organize one-day events at their schools during which they will promote environmental protections. Local government officials will also be invited to these events. We will create an “Eco-bus” that will travel to each of the 10 events and provide educational materials and games. We will organize meetings for the youth about running public consultations and diagnosing local issues. We will support the young people in writing a petition to six municipalities and Hajnowski District, asking to include environmental protections and educational classes for children in a 2022 budget. We will support volunteering groups in conducting eco-campaigns across the voivodeship that will conclude with a meeting and a discussion between people working in the field of ecology and local government about the situation in the district. Together with the teachers and other chaperons we will establish an NGO that will propose projects for ecological and environmental initiatives to include in the district’s participatory budget.
Summary of project results
From our observations, it appears that there is a lack of activities engaging young people in environmental actions in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. At the same time, the Hajnówka County, where we operate, faces excessive deforestation, air, and water pollution. The Environmental Protection Program for the City of Hajnówka for the years 2017-2022, with consideration for 2023-2026, describes the issues of low groundwater levels, pollution, and the impact of industrial and municipal buildings on air quality, not only in Hajnówka but also in other localities within the Hajnówka County. From our conversations with school principals in the county and municipal offices, it is evident that there is a lack of support and opportunities for young people to engage in environmental actions.In response to these problems, we involved youth and teachers from 10 schools in the Hajnówka County in environmental activities. In each school, we formed youth volunteer groups and conducted workshops on environmental education. With the support of facilitators, the youth organized one-day events in their schools, promoting environmental care. Local government authorities were invited to these events. We created an "Eco-Bus," which visited each event and provided necessary educational materials, including games and educational activities. We also organized meetings for the youth regarding conducting social consultations and diagnosing local issues. We supported the youth in writing petitions to six municipalities and the Hajnówka County, urging them to include ecological and educational actions in the budget for 2022, targeting children and young people.The main goal of the project was to establish eco-volunteer groups in schools, which was successfully achieved. Before the project, such groups existed, but they were not very active in environmental matters. After the workshops, the youth learned about many other types of actions related to environmental protection.
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