EURECA – European Academy of Urban Ecology
At the beginning of September 2023, the SocLab Foundation, together with partners from the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal and Italy, started the implementation of the "EURECA - European URban ECology Academy" project, in which it plays the leading role. The project as part of the Erasmus+ adult education program assumes the development of an educational program on environmental protection and pro-ecological behavior at the level of an individual person, household, and headquarters/office of an organization/institution/company. The recipients are people who are not professionally involved in ecology, and the aim is to provide knowledge about practical solutions that can be used by an "ordinary person" who does not have specialist ecological or technical knowledge. As part of the EURECA project, an online training program will be developed, an e-learning platform will be created, and the culmination will be a full training cycle conducted remotely in Poland and in the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal and Italy in 2025.
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In 2050, 2/3 of humanity will live in cities. They already consume 70 percent. world energy, emitting a proportionate amount of greenhouse gases. Dense buildings and population, especially in city centers, cause health problems, including mental ones, and create heat islands, sources of accumulated light and noise. Green areas and nature are being replaced by housing, road and infrastructure investments. The retreat from "concretesis" noticeable in Western Europe is currently barely reaching the awareness of Polish authorities at both the government and local government levels. This also applies to ordinary people who line their yards with cobblestones, cut down old trees and plant thujas and other alien species in their place, and travel even short distances by car. The obvious issues are water, energy and waste management. Environmental information and education activities carried out for years have made many people aware that the urban ecosystem is not conducive to health and nature, they are ready to act to the best of their abilities, but most often they do not have the appropriate knowledge or motivation. They often need an impulse, a hint, and a belief that they are not alone. EURECA meets these needs and allows us to launch initiatives whose potential has so far been dormant. At the same time, it allows for behavioral changes in individual preferences, consumption habits and lifestyles in line with the "New European Bauhaus" initiative, and also contributes to the implementation of selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
PLATFORM OF THE PROJECT: www.eurecaedu.eu
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Partners organizations:
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EDU.IN Associação para a Educação Integral - Portugal
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Project co-financed by the European Union
