Green Forum • 6 November, 2024 at 8:18 PM
With total funding of more than €300.000, the fifth round of the Environmental Platform for Bucharest, initiated by the Bucharest Community Foundation and supported by Engie Romania, develops and supports initiatives that contribute to solving major environmental challenges, from energy-efficient schools and work spaces and circular economy centers to educational gardens and dedicated spaces for urban biodiversity. Transformations in schools, the Botanical Garden, and the Circular Economy Center offer Bucharest residents direct opportunities for practical learning and active involvement in the community.
Developed by non-governmental organizations with support from local authorities and communities, the project aims to turn a school into a model of energy efficiency, to educate people about energy efficiency in buildings, to reduce waste and support vulnerable communities, to create an ecological hub and to plant mini-forests in schoolyards. The projects are planned to be completed throughout 2025. Currently, they are at different stages of development and implementation.
The “Gardens of Knowledge” project restores the vitality of the "D. Brandza" Botanical Garden in Bucharest, transforming it into an educational and ecological hub of biodiversity open to the general public. Through this project, the association transforms three areas covering a 2,900 square meters surface: The Historical Garden, the Children's Garden, and the Italian Garden basin. The initiative includes eight workshops dedicated to adults and children, as well as volunteering activities. The Historical Garden is designed for educational activities dedicated to children and students, ensuring tables, benches, and a library for visitors, while the Children's Garden proposes an educational journey to explore plant structure, both above and below ground. The works include four areas with honey plants to attract pollinators, a collection of aquatic and marsh plants in the basin, as well as a 70 square meter composting area.
Through the project “A helping hand for the environment and Bucharest", the Eco-Durabil Association contributes to reducing textile and electronic waste in the capital, a major source of long-term pollution, through reuse and redistribution to vulnerable communities, promoting circular economy and sustainable consumption. With funding worth 250,000 lei from ENGIE Romania through the Environmental Platform for Bucharest, the association has extended the capacity of the first Integrated Circular Economy Centre, a dedicated space for collecting and repairing donated items, and opened a charity shop at the same location in Calea Plevnei where it operates. Through the funding received, the Circular Economy Centre has evolved from a volunteering-based space into an active and sustainable structure. In addition, the center benefits from comfortable working conditions throughout the year, regardless of season. In just six months, the center has collected 2,180 cubic meters of donations from 2,600 people.
The “EcoSchool 206” project approaches the issue of high energy consumption in schools and underlines the necessity for education in the renewable energy field. The CSR Nest Association is transforming Bucharest's Secondary School No. 206 into an energy efficiency and experiential/practical learning model. Photovoltaic panels have been installed to generate green energy, thus reducing the school's grid consumption by 12,000 -14,000 kWh per year, which represents approximately 12% decrease of the used energy. Additionally, an energy efficiency lab was created, where students, teachers, and the school community can benefit from practical learning about solar, wind, and hydro energy, promoting ecologic habits and responsible consumption. The lab will be open to other students across Bucharest during Green Week, Alternative School Week, and other educational events. Overall, the project aims to attract 690 students from Secondary School No. 206, 2,000 students from other schools in Bucharest, and 260 teachers and support staff every year.
The “Education and practice in energy efficiency in buildings” project addresses the problem of the energy inefficiency of buildings through a mix of education and practical action. The project started with the thermic rehabilitation of the “Cloth Workshop" and “Recicleta" (600 square meters), which employs 70 people and which has become an energy efficiency model for the community. This renovation will be integrated into educational tours focused on sustainability, while the association will promote energy efficiency among teachers, through a plan and training sessions on climate change. Furthermore, the association will mobilize authorities and experts to identify solutions to improve the efficiency of school buildings in Bucharest and Ilfov. By the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the association aims to offer lessons on energy efficiency to 30,000 students and to discuss practical solutions with 20 school principals and 10 representatives of the authorities.
In addition to the four environmental initiatives in Bucharest, Engie Romania also supports the “Mini-forest in the schoolyard” project, initiated in Galati by Global Water Partnership Romania. The scope of the project is to increase biodiversity by establishing mini-forests with local species in schoolyards in Galati. Starting in November 2024, 90 students from the Radu Negru Technological College and other schools will participate in educational workshops to create mini-forests with surfaces between 800 and 1,500 square meters, equipped with irrigation and environmental monitoring systems. At the same time, the association will distribute a mini-forest maintenance guide to at least 30 institutions, as part of the initiative aimed to promote best practices in the growth and conservation of biodiversity.
The Environmental Platform for Bucharest is a strategic program initiated by the Bucharest Community Foundation together with ING Bank Romania, that supports collaboration between non-profit organizations, public authorities, civil society, businesses, and citizens to create a common environmental vision for the city. Launched in 2021, the Platform aimed to address the city's environmental problems through three key areas: research, funding, and collaboration. It collected data and concrete examples to understand the environmental challenges and solutions proposed by civil society, mobilized financial resources to implement and scale them, and created a framework for collaboration between NGOs, private companies, and the public administration.