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Summary of project results
The project was intended to solve the problem of environmental protection in the Wąbrzeg poviat and the low influence of young people on public life at the village, commune and poviat levels. Destructive human activity has a negative impact on our local environment. In Wąbrzeźno County, almost 170 trees were cut down in 2020, and the share of green areas in the total area of the county is only 0.21%. There is a visible lack of ecological education in rural areas, residents loudly say that matters dealt with in Europe do not concern us, waste segregation is described as senseless. From conversations with office workers, we know that residents do not report ecological interventions, which proves the lack of a sense of responsibility for the state of the environment in communities. There are wild garbage dumps in the area, which are getting bigger every year, and new places are being created where garbage is illegally stored.
The lack of youth involvement in local community issues did not come out of nowhere. Living in rural areas, with scattered buildings and where public transport is practically non-existent, it is difficult for young people to build a common group of interests. The actions they take at school as part of the student council are, on the one hand, insufficient for them, and on the other hand, they are partly apparent, because the final say belongs to teachers and/or management. Therefore, there is a growing sense of lack of agency and influence on the environment among young people
We started with the Visionaries'' Rally, a workshop meeting for 12 young people from our district for whom ecology is an important part of life. Together with them, we developed the "Appeal of young people from the Wąbrzeźno district regarding the protection of the local environment", which was posted on the website eko-załoga.pl and was published in the local newspaper. We have appointed an eco-crew. This is a group of 15 people aged 15-19 from the Wąbrzeg poviat, who, thanks to cooperation with a web developer, created a project website where the poviat''s inhabitants could mark places requiring the intervention of the eco-crew. Of the selected places, the eco-crew chose 4 places that they could actually clean themselves. In one case, the illegal dump was so large that the youth wrote a letter to the local office asking them to clean it up and take the garbage to PSZOK. The request was effective and the garbage was cleaned up. Two squares with trees and shrubs were created, village councils expressed their desire to create such a place, young people and decision-makers chose the exact locations and selected appropriate plants. More than 20 people from two villages took part in the planting. There was also an Oxford debate on ecological issues, during which two teams debated whether passenger cars should be allowed to drive in city centers. The debate was watched by a large audience of 60 people. The final product of the debate was also a video prepared by local Internet television. During the entire project, a group of 50 young people had access to the Discord server, which was specially prepared for this situation and moderated by one of the young employees.
Thanks to the implementation of the project, 15 young people from the Wąbrzeźno district became involved in ecological activities in the district, they participated with full passion in eco-interventions and side activities. 14 people increased their knowledge of participation in policy-making - indicator - pre-test and post-test of the "visionaries'' rally". Young people realized that they actually have tools and opportunities to effectively influence local politics. Thanks to the acquired knowledge, they learned that everyone, even the younger ones, have the right to submit their proposals or doubts to local government officials. 20 people will influence the appearance of public space in their town - plantings in both towns attracted many people, 19 in each town, which gives a total of 38 people. The involvement of residents in pro-ecological activities is at a very high level, probably due to their awareness of the threats related to environmental degradation. Therefore, any activity that favors or cleanses the environment is of great interest. 40 participants expanded their knowledge of climate issues - participants/audience of the Oskfdord debate stated based on an online survey that the debate broadened their knowledge and ecological awareness.