The Lesser Poland Cultural Center Sokół, Nowy Sącz, Poland
According to reports published by the Provincial Inspectorate of Environmental Protection, the Environmental Protection Programme, and the Air Protection Programme, the environmental pollution problem is very serious in the Małopolskie province, affecting watercourses, rivers, lakes, woods, and the air in particular. As an organisation that has for several years been working in the field of environmental education in this region, we can see that the number of such initiatives is still insufficient. Inhabitants of our province rarely engage in pro-environmental endeavours, whereas the problem of disposing of waste in forests or burning garbage in heating stoves is very common. The evaluation of our previous projects shows that youths are motivated to do something for the environment, but they need support and specific opportunities to get involved. Reaching this group will have positive impact on their parents and will teach future generations to take care of their surrounding environment.
We will address these problems by organising fieldwork workshops for kindergarten and school children and youths. Together we will clean up woods, measure water and oil pollution, build homes for insects, and create mind maps of solutions addressing burning environmental issues. Then we will organise a contest for sustainable initiatives and will implement 10 winning ideas for projects in schools or the immediate vicinity, proposed by young people from our province. Finally, we will organise the ‘Be ECO’ festival, including a canoeing trip combined with collecting litter on the bank of the Dunajec river.
In our project we will be supported by the Gródek nad Dunajcem commune which we have been cooperating with for years and which will help us organise the canoeing trip and promote the project among schools, as well as Małopolskie Sokół Cultural Centre, which will help us with the promotion and recruitment on the provincial level, thanks to its wide reach and experience.
