Identify your own resources and get to know your neighbourhood
The first step is to identify the resources of your own organisation and define the potential of the local environment at the social, cultural, natural, architectural, institutional and entrepreneurial levels. It is customary to think about local residents because they are our potential audience. But it is worth looking for partners among NGOs operating in the local area, informal and activist groups, other local institutions (such as kindergartens, libraries, children’s playgrounds), entities managing green areas, housing cooperatives, as well as local businesses. It is a good idea to begin with creating a map of the area and on that basis, find common points of interest. The goals of neighbouring organisations may coincide, e.g. they may be united by their care of the area. When preparing a map of your neighbours and shared goals, make sure you create a map of your own resources as well. Investigate your institution’s usefulness to local ecosystems. Local cultural workers or activists can help with the diagnosis process. Mapping your own resources and the resources of your neighbourhood is a popular tool in community development. You can do this during a workshop for colleagues from different departments. There is no need to spend a lot of time on it – it is enough to define your greatest potential and needs. You need to know not only what you want to offer, but also what you are looking for. Use visual forms for this work. You may want to think of your map as an invitation to encourage potential individuals and partner institutions to cooperate.
Neighbourhoods
Creating a map of your neighbours: institutional, commercial (shops, restaurants, services), human and non-human inhabitants (flora and fauna) will allow you to see a multidimensional space. It is a space for living, the daily commute between work and home, recreational walks, it is a work space, a space for management, as well as a habitat for an uncountable number of non-human organisms. Try becoming co-responsible for a specific area and relationships that shape this space. These values are important for pro-environmental thinking.
> In 2024, the Warsaw Nature Social Archive was launched, with the aim of collecting stories, photographs and other materials that show how rich the local ecosystem is. The Archive is part of a wider programme ‘Miastozdziczenie’ (Wild City), initiated by the Puszka Foundation Archiwum – an initiative promoting social and expert knowledge on biodiversity in the capital. It is worth drawing on this approach, because nature is an important point of reference, part of everyday life and a source of inspiration. It does not have to be spectacular or exotic. It is a gesture of appreciation for what is, rather than a search for unique specimens.
> The Żoliborz Cultural Centre came up with an idea for environmental and artistic education, which involved other organisations such as the Łucznica Academy Association and Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół SOS Association. The ‘PięknoPole’ project refers to admiration for the landscape, developing sensitivity in contact with nature and appreciating localness.
Perhaps there already exists some network in your vicinity or sector which you can join. If not, you can initiate it (advice on how to establish and develop relations of good neighbourliness is included in the section on GOOD NEIGHBOURLINESS). Many institutions and organisations cooperate informally to promote local identity.
> Read about the ‘Recipe for Muranów’ project, co-created by the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which focused on strengthening the local identity.
> The Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle initiated ‘Green Jazdów’, active in the years 2015-2016, which promoted the green areas of Jazdów.
> Komuna Warszawa, which is housed in a former school building, decided to make use of its green space. As a gesture to its neighbours, it is offering a ‘Garden of Respite’, which is intended to respond to the need for green, relaxing spaces in the city centre.
> An interesting climate initiative – ‘Libraries for the Climate’ – is run by the Information Society Development Foundation (FRSI), which is trying to turn libraries into local centres for reflection and action on climate issues. In many places, libraries are still the only place accessible to everyone that operates free of charge, where people can spend time and take advantage of cultural offerings. By organising workshops and meetings with experts, local communities can develop their resilience to the effects of climate crises, support each other and mobilise for action.
> Another way of strengthening neighbourhood ties are festivals which take place in the context of a given place and environmental challenges. In 2023, BWA Opole organised the Bolko Island festival – an important place in the local topography due to its unique nature, but also due to flooding. Opole is in a state of permanent flood risk, and thanks to artistic projects, this topic has a chance to reach different audiences and thus raise awareness and inspire change for the environment.
Support in the region
It is worth seeking out partnerships and coalitions within a common district, province or region. When institutions and organisations are organised by the same central body, it is easier to fight together for new green standards.
> One example of such activity is offered by the Green Institutions of Tri-city and Pomerania, which created a network consisting of 21 institutions in 2023. Each of these institutions is at a different stage of green transition. A survey was carried out among the institutional members, which demonstrated that:
– in 5 out of 17 institutions which responded to the survey, there are dedicated structures (coordinators, representatives).
– 3 out of 17 institutions have dedicated teams;
– 6 out of 17 institutions have informal groups;
– 4 out of 17 institutions have green activities based on individual persons
10 of the 17 institutions taking part in the survey have already implemented some elements of green transition, while 7 institutions take inspiration from others.
What does the green transition involve in these institutions? It may include: limiting or changing the nature of purchases, investing in infrastructure, reducing the electronic carbon footprint, introducing checklists as attachments to contracts, introducing environmental documents, establishing green teams, measuring the carbon footprint, and implementing environmental projects.
Working groups
Create working groups inside the institution (see also: GREEN TEAMS) as well as outside. Find out if such a network already exists in your city, if not – set it up. Take a look at eco-themed projects, both big ones, such as exhibitions connected with this topic, and smaller ones, such as workshops on building pollinator houses or sowing wildflower meadows. Contact the people who carried out these initiatives in your area. Perhaps you will find common goals and needs and share your experience and knowledge. Such support networks are organised by institutions, for example, in connection with audience development (e.g. Adeste+ operating in Warsaw). Urban initiatives and movements also create their networks for sharing experiences. A networking event may be a good place for meeting up, discussing challenges and setting up a working group.
> A website dedicated to Adeste+.
> One example of an urban networking initiative was Residents’ Forum City Common Cause organised by an NGO – Towarzystwo Inicjatyw Twórczych ‘ę’. A working group may serve in exchanging experiences and offering support but also for deepening one’s knowledge. You can invite experts, naturalists, activists, representatives of ecological and climate-related movements to your meetings. Such a working group may become a basis of a wider coalition:
