Duration: May-Octobe 2025
Funding: ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy sub-granting scheme for local and grass-root initiatives in the field of EU rights and values within the project: “Together in Action: Empowering Local Communities for Sustainable and Inclusive Futures” funded by the European Commission under the CERV (Operating grant reference: CERV-2024-OG-SGA).
Summary:
The objective of this project is to empower multicultural community to actively participate in environmental decision-making and sustainable local practices. We aim to build ecological awareness and strengthen community resilience by promoting nature-based solutions and knowledge in gardening, sustainable land use, and biodiversity conservation, while fostering intergenerational learning and mutual respect. The project is fostering shared learning experiences around biodiversity, heritage, and sustainability in Lake Peipsi communities.
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Our project focused on protecting the unique natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Peipsi region. We worked with the multicultural and multiethnic communities, where people are often socially isolated and underrepresented in broader sustainability initiatives. The project aimed to foster shared learning experiences around biodiversity, heritage, and sustainability by bringing together community groups of different ages, social, and ethnic backgrounds.
Our main activties were: On 6 June, a Community Spring Walk and Clean-Up was organised in cooperation with the local youth centre. An expert introduced participants to invasive species, the main sources of lake pollution, and the challenges of biodiversity protection, while the group also took part in cleaning up litter along the way.
Community Exhibition on Local Biodiversity and Heritage Plants was held on 2 July at the Peipsiland Museum. The exhibition highlighted how everyday practices, gardening traditions, and heritage plants reflect sustainable lifestyles and intergenerational knowledge. Visitors could explore photographs of gardening and daily life in the Peipsi region, paintings and poems about nature and people, old gardening tools, as well as displays of locally grown vegetables, heritage plants.
The project concluded with an Autumn Workshop on 18 September, focusing on traditional plants, seed saving and sharing and food preservation
Video summary of the project achievements
