Funding: Fundo Recomeçar (Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa)
Duration: May 2019 - December 2019
Partners: Município da Figueira da Foz
The Project
The FLORESTA+ ("Forest Plus") project aimed to promote education for citizenship and a culture of environmental safety in the communities of Figueira da Foz who were affected by the 2017 wildfires. This project was coordinated by Associação BioLiving in partnership with the Municipality of Figueira da Foz and with the financial support of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa through the Recomeçar Fund.
As one of the main objectives, this project aimed to raise the awareness of the local communities of Figueira da Foz about the importance of native forests, as well as their valorization and alternatives to the current forest models.
The project's actions include the control of invasive alien species, training sessions about sustainable forest management models with forest owners and, environmental education activities with students from the 1st grade to the 3rd grade of school.
In total, more than 1000 people were involved in the course of the project, which resulted, among other indicators, in the sowing of 1400 acorns of Cantabrian mountain oak (Quercus orocantabrica) sown by 750 students from different schools in Figueira da Foz. Handbooks of good practices were produced and distributed to inform, educate and train the local communities.
Available outputs
On the project's website you will find various products and resources that you can consult and download for free:
- Diagnostic report analysing public perception of the work and importance of NGOs and other civic groups in the environmental and social fields in the project's five partner countries.
- Introductory handbook to mentoring trainees in NGOs to help association leaders with little experience in hosting trainees and/or volunteers.
- Training Course on Green and Social Entrepreneurship and Associative Leadership.
- Handbook about founding and funding NGOs for those who want to know about the first steps to take before setting up an NGO, the founding process, management tips and examples of funding.
- Policy paper that summarises the main results of the project, highlighting and discussing why it is important to change and evolve the policy associated with the third sector at both national and European level.
floresta+ in numbers
Throughout the project, FLORESTA+ directly involved hundreds of people in a wide variety of activities and events:
Testimonials
STRATOS CHATZIGIANNAKIS
"O curso foi esclarecedor em todos os aspectos. A interacção com empreendedores sociais de toda a Europa, bem como as ferramentas e técnicas aprendidas, terão definitivamente impacto nas nossas acções futuras".
MONA FISCHER
‘NGEurope is an excellent way to learn about social entrepreneurship and to start thinking in innovative ways, as well as being more active. In addition, I have met many very inspiring people and gained a sense of connection and solidarity with other European citizens.’
GONÇALO ABREU
"O projecto NGeurope foi uma excelente oportunidade para o meu crescimento pessoal. Não esperava que este curso de formação me desafiasse a deixar a minha zona de conforto e me desse a conhecer tantas realidades diferentes sobre os temas da liderança e do ambiente. Graças a esta experiência aprendi sobre a importância do terceiro sector do desenvolvimento de soluções mais sustentáveis para problemas comunitários a nível local. Além disso, tive a oportunidade de conhecer muitas ONGs, não só no meu país mas também no estrangeiro. Através do programa de imersão do projecto, trabalhei num campo de voluntariado internacional e conheci ainda mais pessoas de diferentes partes do mundo. Esta experiência permitiu-me trabalhar as minhas competências linguísticas, mas sobretudo as minhas capacidades de liderança que aprendi no curso de formação. Obrigado NGeurope pela experiência incrível!"
