SUSTAINABILITY
Tales of Transformation: Lousada uses environmental education to transform their city
May 19, 2020
IMAGE: Municipality of Lousada
This September, local and regional leaders, European and international institutions, some of the brightest minds working on cutting edge research, businesses, and the civil society will gather for the 9th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns #Mannheim2020, 30 September-02 October, to #TakeTransformationForward.
Local transformation needs to be brought to the next level in all aspects of society. Europe needs solutions for major environmental, economic and social challenges! But we also need inspiring, replicable examples of how urban leaders have transformed their towns and cities.
In the run-up to Mannheim2020, we will showcase examples of how towns and cities across Europe have done this.
This week we take a look at Lousada (Portugal) and explore how they’ve used environmental education to make their city more #sustainable, #resilient and #liveable.
IMAGE: Municipality of Lousada
Lousada: integrated education for sustainability
Lousada is a densely populated municipality located in rural Portugal. However, despite its rural setting, there is in general a low appreciation for the importance of nature among residents.
The City faces numerous environmental challenges, such as water pollution, forest fires, invasive plant species, habitat and landscape degradation, and biodiversity loss.
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IMAGE: Municipality of Lousada
In order to combat these problems, the municipality has, since 2017, used a sustainability strategy structured on several axis: research; environmental education; social engagement; and infrastructure.
Through their work they aim to promote environmental practices, inspire and support alternative ways of creating conservation areas and job opportunities, and reconnect local citizens with the rural landscape.
IMAGE: Municipality of Lousada
To date, the city has experienced impressive results, including: the planting of 40,000 native trees with the support of over 4,500 volunteers; the restoration of over 20 hectares of degraded land; the creation of more than 20 wildlife ponds; and an increase in waste recycling by over 500 tonnes per year.
IMAGE: Municipality of Lousada
In recognition of their work, the city was awarded the 2019 Transformative Action Award - a European urban sustainability award given to cities, regions, or civil society organisations who use the pathways of the Basque Declaration to transform their societies. The award came with a prize of 10,000 EUR, which the City could use to kick-start another sustainability project.
The 2020 Transformative Action Award is now accepting applications, with the award ceremony set to take place during Mannheim2020. For more information about the award and to submit an application before the 31 July 2020 deadline, click here.
To learn more about how Lousada has transformed their city, click here.
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