EURECA – European Academy of Urban Ecology

In early September 2023, the SocLab Foundation, together with partners from the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal and Italy, started the implementation of the project "EURECA - European URban ECology Academy", in which it plays a leading role. The project, within the framework of the Erasmus+ adult education programme, involves the development of an educational programme on environmental protection and pro-ecological behaviour at the level of an individual, family and the headquarters/office of an organisation/institution/company. The target audience is people who are not professionally involved in ecology and the aim is to provide knowledge on 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 the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal and Italy in 2025.

By 2050, 2/3 of humanity will live in cities. They already consume 70 percent of the world's energy, emitting a proportionate amount of greenhouse gases. Dense buildings and populations, especially in city centers, cause health problems, including mental health, and create heat islands, sources of accumulated light and noise. Green areas and nature are being replaced by investments in housing, roads and infrastructure. The retreat from "concreteness" evident in Western Europe is currently barely reaching the awareness of Polish authorities at both the governmental 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 even drive short distances by car. The obvious problems are the management of water, energy and waste. The 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 ability, but most of the time they do not have the appropriate knowledge or motivation. They often need a boost, a hint and the conviction that they are not alone. EURECA meets these needs and enables us to launch initiatives whose potential has so far been dormant. At the same time, it enables 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).

Project partners

Foundation of the Laboratory of Social Research and Action "SocLab" - Poland

EDU.IN Associação para a Educação Integral - Portugal

Graduate school in Chrudimi zs - Czech Republic

Internet Web Solutions SL - Spain

Progetto cofinanziato dall'Unione Europea