Eco-patrols 4 environmental goals

<< Background >>We applied for this project to strengthen the strategic cooperation of our organizations in the field of youth and environment, and to increase the transnational impact of our work. Through research and needs analysis, we identified low environmental awareness and unsustainable daily habits among youth and local stakeholders during the application process. This motivated us to share and upscale the successful Croatian “Eco-patrol” model to other countries. Our goal was to expand it for older youth (14-18 years) and add a digital dimension through a mobile educational game, fostering sustainable habits and climate action.By building on existing results and working in a transnational, multidisciplinary team, we aimed to contribute to long-term behavioral change, promote active citizenship, and strengthen environmental education across Europe.We achieved to address key needs by developing the Eco-patrol Manual for educators, youth workers, and teachers. The lack of local extracurricular eco-activities was tackled by forming five local Eco-patrol groups. Additionally, Generation Z’s preference for mobile learning was met through the Eco-patrols in 24 Zones educational app, making environmental topics accessible via smartphones.<< Objectives >>By implementing this project, we aimed to enhance the competencies of environmental and youth organizations in effectively raising awareness among diverse target groups about environmental and climate change challenges. Our goal was to foster long-term behavioral changes by equipping our organizations with an innovative green skill method — the Eco-patrol program. Through this approach, we wanted to empower youth to make environmentally conscious choices in their daily lives and to provide organizations, youth workers and educators with practical multiplying tools.The project aimed to bridge the gap between awareness and action by providing methods and practical tools, skills and knowledge that organizations can use to inspire sustainable habits of youth. By fostering collaboration among project partners and strengthening organizational capacities, we aimed to create a spilling effect that extends beyond the project's immediate participants, contributing to a wide range of stakeholders internationally. Our objective was to build a strong foundation for non-formal environmental education through the Eco-patrol method. << Implementation >>Activities implemented in WP1: Project face-to-face meetings (kick off and final) and regular monthly online project meetings; Financial administration and project reporting; Regular communication, promotion and dissemination activities; Continues evaluation and monitoring; Activities in WP2: Eco-patrol Manual development through online and face-to-face cooperation (International workshop held in Macedonia); Testing of the Eco-patrol Manual in National Seminars for youth workers in all partner countries; Eco-patrol concept piloting in each country and implementing the program locally; Design and publication of Manual and translation in all languages of the partner countries; Implementation of 4 dissemination events per country.Activities in WP3: E-educational game design through online cooperation between experts and International e-game workshop held in Hungary; Testing game activities implemented locally; National and International Eco-game events; Web-site design and regular content creation; Implementation of 4 dissemination events and 1 National conference in each country; Organization of the Final project meeting in Croatia.Regular visibility an evaluation activities were part of all WPs. << Results >>Concrete outputs of our project are: Eco-patrol Manual for non-formal environmental education of youth, consisting of 8 modules and 48 activities, in 6 language versions (English, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Italian and Hungarian); Online educational eco-game - mobile application “Eco-patrols in 24 zones”, consisting of 24 tasks each in 3 levels, guiding us around the globe and building players environmental awareness in fun and interesting way; Eco-patrols - corresponding board game. Other results are: Straighten cooperation among 5 partner organizations from 5 different countries to work in youth non-formal environmental education and built their capacity for transnational work and cooperation; Eco-patrol youth groups formed and Eco-patrol Manual tested with more than 100 youngsters across five countries; Main outputs widely disseminated through more than 25 multiplying events and accessible online at https://eco-patrols.eu/ and other EU platforms as open source resource for non-formal environmental education of youth.