Description
The Educational Center for Sustainability Project aims to equip our institution with physical conditions to support outreach activities and environmental education that will take place there. This Centre promotes a sustainable and integrated management of the natural area around, for the conservation of the nature and biodiversity, the promotion of environmental education, and the access to a scientific culture and information about the environmental questions. This project will: rehab a pre-existent building with the purpose to use it as an interpretative center to rise the population awareness and sensitization about the environment and the rural areas; serve as hub to promote environmental education, the rural world and nature discover; organize specific environmental workshops during all the year and to implement sensitization at schools; create observation and interpretative rails; develop training and awareness activities about environment and sustainability.
Summary of project results
The project addressed environmental education and preservation issues at a local level, in northern Portugal. Over 5000 young beneficiaries were mobilized in 129 awareness-raising actions, a much greater number than planned originally. These actions included workshops, debates, field trips and weekly information sessions at schools. The promoter deemed this set of actions effective in fostering an environmental education strategy, promoting scientific culture and the citizens’ access to information on environmental matters. Activities included an exhibition on environment and sustainability, healthy outdoors occupations such as the cleaning up of a local river, camping, etc. The project also included meetings and conferences involving the local government, integrated in a European participative democracy project and in a national project addressing sustainable development and efficient use of resources.
Summary of bilateral results