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IDEAS For Us - Branches

Romania Branch

About This Branch

IDEAS For Us Romania started in 2017, after Alina Blaga joined the IDEAS team in Orlando as Community Solutions Fellow.  The branch was consolidated after the winning of two grants (the IREX grant and the Trust for Mutual Understanding grant) that allowed the visit of three IDEAS For US representatives in Romania and the organization of a HIVE and of several community actions in 2018. Bucharest, the Romanian capital, takes up the 6th spot among 76 cities in the Europe: Pollution Index 2018 Mid-Year. In this context, every portion of green space needs to be protected and people should be more proactive in greening their city. According to the 2015 European Report on Environment, Romania recycled in 2012 only 4.5% of municipal waste, there were only 16 companies active in collecting, recycling, waste treatment and disposal nationwide. IDEAS for Us Romania is working to bring sustainability and environmental action through the IDEAS Hive, Eco Action Projects and their online platform. Check out their amazing YouTube channel with at home sustainability hacks here.

Environmental Challenges

  • High levels of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide – because of factories, chemical plants, electric power, burning fossil fuel. This cause Acid rain
  • Danube river system is polluted from runoffs – threatens drinking water and ecosystem.
  • Poor farming practices – infrequent crop rotation, soil degradation

Get
Involved

Getting involved with the Organizing team of Romania is as easy as emailing the branch leaders at  Romania@ideasforus.org and by supporting our mission while following IDEAS For Us – Romania on Instagram and Facebook.

Branch
Leaders

IDEAS For Us: Romania is lead by Alina Blaga, the branch manager who started with IDEAS after her IREX trip to Orlando to learn the model before assisting in the expansion into Romania in 2017.

Support Action Projects in Romania

Project 1: The Violoncelului Urban Garden in Bucharest

Objective 1: Organize 3 sessions of planting, permaculture and maintenance.

Goal 1A: Educate about the importance of bees and the need to protect them

Goal 1B: Ensure a proper educational environment for visiting groups of children from the community

Objective 2: Create a corner of pollinator native plants in the garden

View the Full Project Proposal

Project 2: Up-Cycling Workshops & Tutorials

Objective: Partner for organizing up-cycling workshops with 5 festivals/ organizations in Bucharest during 2019.

 

Goal 1A: Promote up-cycling closer to the community (in parks, public spaces, public buildings etc.)

Goal 1B: Continue to develop the set of video tutorials on the project.

View the Full Project Proposal

Project 3:
Eyes on EU

Objective:  Educate and empower young people on how to catalyze the environmental movement.


Goal 1A: Educate young people on environmental issues around the world

Goal 1B:  Empower people by mobilizing them in environmental action.

 
View the Full Project Proposal

Previous Projects

1. Bio Blitz at the Vacaresti Natural Park

 

Community members joined us for a day of discovery at the Vacaresti Natural Park, a great example of how nature can take over in the middle of the city.

 

The BioBlitz represents a community action meant to bring the beauty and value of the park closer to the citizens of Bucharest by photographing and identifying amazing species of plants, birds, mammals, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians and insects.

The Vacaresti Nature Park is a wetland, formed on the site of a hydro-technical project commenced by the Communist regime in 1986 and left unfinished. The area is located in Bucharest, 4 km away from the city center. It spreads over a surface of 183 hectares. The Vacaresti Nature Park has been approved as a Nature Park by a government decision in May 2016, after strong support from civil society.

 

2. The IDEAS Hive – Organizing for Eco-Action

 

The Hive Think/Do Tank takes the approach of education through action and experiential learning, focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals. At our first Hive in Bucharest, Romania, we had as guests part of the IDEAS For Us team from Orlando, Florida. We believe that people who participate in the betterment of their community will have a greater concern for it.

 

3. Upcycling workshops for community green activation

More than 100 up-cycling workshops organized with ReciclareCreativa.RO in 2018, in Bucharest, Romania! We believe that non-formal education can catalyze especially the young generation. Our workshops teach them that waste can be a resource and, most importantly, that we have to waste less.

Events

Waste has been a major focus of our work in Romania. We launched the#LastStraw campaign there and held three IDEAS Hive Workshops.  IDEAS is in the process of building an official branch in Bucharest.

Partner Organizations

Alina Blaga is the co-founder of D’Avent Association and this Romanian NGO supports all the actions of the IDEAS for Romania branch. D’Avent works on promoting sustainable living in urban areas by growing and supporting successful active communities.

Since 2011 the association had an important impact on the community by:

  • Enabling 3 local communities with over 600 active members to act for sustainable living
  • Organizing up to 200 eco events/year, with over 3000 participants
  • Reaching over 170.000 international followers on social media
  • Saving over 1000 kg of waste/ year by up-cycling it into new products
  • Providing direct support for over 50 local green entrepreneurs
  • Developing medium and long term partnerships with over 50 private and public actors for promoting environmental awareness
  • Reaching communities on 5 continents through international partnerships

 

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