Green Bridges

Green Bridges:Developing social cohesion & wellbeing by creating routes & bridges between people, places, communities & the natural environmentContext The project promotes social cohesion, through constructing creative & effective relationships between individuals, their social environments, & the natural environment.The project has partners in FI, Pl, LT, UK, RO, IT builds on the success of a project (‘Arboreal Futures’) which created ‘arbors’ for public benefit.The Green Bridges project uses the success of that project to develop environmentally related physical trails allowing for creative educational activities designed to engage & enhance participants’ relationships with each other, society & the natural world.The project will create agreements with other agencies to assist taking forward the desire expressed in the previous project, of engaging in action-research, development & international publishing of the whole process.objectivesTo encourage social cohesion & societal wellbeing by providing individuals and communities with learning opportunities that assist individuals, groups and communities to - develop a sense of personal and social purpose & capacity- Increase resilience- Enhance personal well being- Enable participants to develop & share their own ideas and visions - Provide activities which encourage learning of new skills & access to new opportunities.It will create a sustainable resource of a publicly usable trails that provide users with opportunities to experience & deepen their sense of understanding and appreciation of the natural world upon which human society is constructed.Underlying these is the practical objective of achieving an enhanced relationship between participants and natural environment through a process mutual respect & care. number and profile of participants; The partners vary in size from small rural agencies to Adult Education institutions. The project aims at capacity building for education staff & facilitators & through them participants, many disadvantaged, from local communities. Core managerial teams will be around 6 -10 professional & volunteers. The numbers engaged by such groups will vary from around 50 in the smaller communities to over 100 from institutions.descriptionThe key elements are:The creation and publishing of a ‘Green Way’: a route, connecting communities & primarily for walking, leading participants to local natural resources.Actions associated with the Green Way that act metaphorically, in turning the ‘Way’ into a “bridge’ - between people & communities & in developing sensitivity & understanding between the participants and the natural world.methodology The methodology: informal, creative & experiential using processes ensuring - critical thinking, - open dialogue,- reflection- shared decision making. The experiences & skills of older community members will be engaged & shared skills with young members. Institutions will encouraging students, teachers & management to engage with local communities & community groups will engage with local institutions.Being Organisationally ‘flat’, the managers & initiators of the project will be ‘facilitators’ of the learning process. Dissemination has been embedded in the project process from its conception.. Results & impact The tangible results will be:1. Creation of publicly accessible Green Way. Accompanied with researched information & associated educational activities for use by institutions, informal agencies & communities & introducing & linking groups & individuals to the natural environment. 2. A Best Practises GuideAll educational activities, other standards, rules & behaviours are grouped together under a working title ‘best practices’3. New skills developed re: careful management of nature resource4. Collections ‘bridge’ stories designed to underscore the process of understanding, engagement & interest.The intangible results include an- increase in a wide range of ‘soft skills’- Increased competences & capacity for all participants including learning processes & entrepreneurial attitudes. Impact ‘Bridges’ between communities, between people and their local natural environment, between local communities & a wider European network.The impact will include individuals and groups with increased competences able, through sharing in community life and development, to- Enhance the social capital within their localities- Access other learning, economic & social opportunities- Further assist local individual & social action with & for others both individuals & community groups- Create connections regionally and internationally- Engage with others within the European communityPotential longer term benefits. The reduction of isolation of individuals & communities & improved social cohesion by social engagement & use & development of ‘Green Bridges’ resource & educational action locally and with new groups and communities.