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.