The European Green Deal, underpinned by a new Sustainable Europe Investment Plan, must deliver significant and rapid reductions of greenhouse gases by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050 while also curtailing the loss of biodiversity and cutting pollution from plastics, particulate matter, toxic wastes, and other sources. This transition must address the environmental objectives laid out in the SDGs, but it must also promote economic development and be fair.
Partners of this project agreed that youth in general, youth leaders, workers, and civil society representatives must play an essential role in European Green Deal implementation. Their potential has to be strengthened. That is how the idea of Strategic Partnership’ Urban Garden 2.0′ was born. The analysis of scientific literature and political documents show us the importance of the topic. Still, the analysis of youth workers’ practical materials and work experience identifies a lack of a systemic approach for SDG’s development. Real-life youth protest and actions show that youth are not empowered enough to work for sustainable our future.
Specific aims
– to raise awareness about urban youth gardening and environmental challenges, and climate change;
– to develop competencies needed for a sustainable approach to life among youth;
– to create a methodology for acquiring urban gardening skills;
– to test innovative practice from the project’s countries by implementing them in the base of the project “green platform”;
– to develop a youth urban gardening platform that meets the current needs of youth, youth workers and youth leaders (e.g. save resources, grow green, opt for sustainable food and mobility choices);
– To strengthen young people’s sense of initiative, notably in the social field, and support their communities by giving instruments to start a new step from Protest to Action.
Main participants of the project activities will be youth members of the partners’ organisations, youth workers and leaders, volunteers who work with youth on a daily basis and use non-formal education methods, who are active in the topics of the project as well youth with migrant/refugee background (Sweden and Netherlands). Age 18-29 yo. Approx. number – 160 persons.
Elements
1. Three management meetings: a kick-off meeting – on-line, a mid-term meeting in Hungary, an evaluation meeting – on-line.
2. Development of two intellectual outputs:
1) Youth urban gardening concept
2) Youth urban gardening platform.
3. Four multiplier events (in Sweden, Netherlands, Hungary, Italy).
Results during the project
– raised awareness of urban gardening among youth, youth workers;
– develop urban gardening platform for effective methodological and systemic approach to urban gardening across Europe and among youth;
– to encourage youth, youth organizations to begin with Green deal actions;
– to show youth the way from Protest to Actions for instance by starting urban gardening initiatives.
Long-term results
– empowering youth, youth workers to use urban gardening saving our planet resources;
– gaining knowledge about the possibilities for youth to develop urban gardening ideas individually and together with group;
– creating network seeds focused on urban gardening;
– increased youth, youth workers eco-literacy competencies;
– improved cooperation between EU partners in creating an effective urban gardening platform.
Main results
1. Youth urban garden concept will include many creative, ecological, sustainable and economical forms of planting and gardening.
2. Youth urban gardening platform that will include:
– map of green initiatives,
– seed swapping (exchange of exceed of seeds between individuals)
– a possibility of adopting green areas of the city
– urban gardening (roof gardening, domestic gardening, slots of land available) and other related information that we research and develop during the project.
The project will follow European Green Deal strategy and do our best to create a sustainable life example through urban gardening concept and applying it even by our organisations and our members. We, as organisations working with youth are ambitious to take actions to help youth to implement environmental and sustainable life-style initiatives. In its turn, it will help future generations and contribute to a sustainable future. In the project we will use methods based on circular economy principles.