According to our observations, Nałęczów municipality (Lubelskie Voivodeship) has become dominated by tourism services that limit its residents’ access to local gardens and historic landmarks. We noticed a need to integrate municipality’s actions, development of a collaboration with the residents and grassroots organizations that would engage all the representatives of the local community. In 2019 We have co-organized “Nałęczów Open Garden Days.” For one entire weekend, private gardens and historic residences have been opened for sightseeing. We organized workshops, exhibits, concerts, and local cuisine tastings. Our survey showed that residents enjoyed the experience, with many saying that it was a brand-new experience they’d be willing to repeat.
As part of the project, we organized three installments of the “Nałęczów Open Garden Days Festival 2021,” which helped integrate the local community around common issues and eco-activism. Prior, we have conducted a series of four networking meetings we called “Civic Cafes,” where all the involved parties, the residents, public institutions, civic organizations, and hotel owners talked about the program, possible collaborations and other local initiatives. The participants actively contributed and shared their ideas. We conducted workshops on using social media to self-organize around important issues, and we have also completed a campaign entitled “Nałęczów – City of Gardens,” accompanied by a series of educational walks. During the walks, participants identified spaces for creating Civic Gardens – places for local communities to integrate. Altogether, 29 entities (private individuals, various institutions, private businesses) opened their gardens to the public, with 76 events taking place across the duration of the festival. For the youngest participants, we have organized an arts competition.
Thanks to our project, the local community became more engaged, which can be verified through an increased numbers of residents wanting to participate in future editions of the festival. Also during the festival, we have had individuals come to us and express willingness to share their interests that were not part of the program. Many municipal institutions cooperated with one another to put the festival together, which we consider to be a great value added to our project.