My daily work on the Green Phone in Sunce and the fact that the citizens in Croatia are working a lot on the topic of a healthy environment encouraged me to share this experience with my fellow citizens – Macedonians.
I was not at all indifferent to the fact that in the European Union countries, on average, 30-40% of total household waste is biowaste. Even though this type of waste can be returned to Mother Nature from which we took it, it seems that we still do not manage biowaste as efficiently as we could. In addition, observing the consequences that biowaste causes when mixed with plastic, glass, aluminum and the like, I was sure that I “had” to do something about it. That is how my personal project Eco awakening: Embrace responsibility, ensure sustainability was born.
In fact, the inspiration for the project under the EU’s European Solidarity Corps program – through which I came to volunteer in Split – got to me originally in Sunce, where I learned how to properly sort and compost biowaste. I believe that this composting practice, adopted by all employees and volunteers in the Sunce office, is an excellent example of a concrete individual contribution to building an environmentally sustainable society. This was also witnessed by 36 Macedonians, students of SUGS Orce Nikolov, who, accompanied by professors Elena Mingovska, Mirjana Bogdanoska and Suzana Tnokova Kuzmanovska, visited Split from 4 to 6 November 2024 and took part in my project.
Sustainable development and composting
The first day began with an introductory presentation about the mission and work of Sunce, given by Margita Radman, Head of Education and Information Department. Margita explained to the audience how associations function in Croatia and “revealed the secret” of Sunce’s successful work for over 25 years. Then we highlighted sustainable development and ways in which each of us can contribute to environmental protection, and finally we discussed the importance of composting and what can be achieved by this practice.
During the project, indoor and outdoor composting workshops were held. The home composting workshop was held in the Info Zona, and the outdoor composting workshop was held in the schoolyard of the Skalice Elementary School. I must admit that some of the participants encountered the concept of composting for the first time, but this did not diminish their enthusiasm for interesting facts about biowaste and the positive impact on the environment if this type of waste is separated and composted.
For example, they discovered that composting is the oldest and most natural way to recycle organic matter. They learned how to compost easily at home and mastered exactly what can and cannot be put into compost so that it can be used properly. You can find more about this in Sunce’s article “How to dispose of biowaste if you live in an apartment?”.
Interdisciplinary Conference on Marine Litter and Education for Prevention of Marine Litter
While one group of students followed a workshop on composting, another group participated in the Interdisciplinary Conference on Marine Litter and Education for the Prevention of Marine Litter – Marine Litter-Free Tides of Change. On the first day, students had the opportunity to follow a panel discussion on the importance of intersectoral cooperation for empowering young people in the protection of nature and the environment and their active engagement. On the second day they got the opportunity to actively participate in the World Cafe method, where methods of intersectoral work were discussed in smaller groups.
Knowledge is greater when shared with others
In addition to introducing the work of Sunce, emphasizing the importance of sustainable development and composting, the goal of the Eco awakening: Embrace responsibility, ensure sustainability project was to exchange good European practices, and to present the ESS volunteering program in Europe. These are also some of the topics that left the greatest impression on me from my entire engagement with Sunce, and which I selflessly wanted to share with my fellow citizens.
The results of the evaluation of the participants in the project showed that the composting workshop left the biggest impression on my fellow citizens. That was great news because, in addition to raising awareness of the importance of environmental protection and emphasizing how to build an ecologically sustainable society, it was important to me that they master the steps of composting because they expressed their desire to build their own composter in the school yard of SUGS Orce Nikolov.
– As a school, it was a great pleasure for us to visit and collaborate with Sunce. The overall impression was at the highest level, in terms of organization, innovative solutions, as well as the opportunity for our students to be directly informed and gain knowledge about ecology and environmental protection, – says professor Elena Mingovska, whose opinion is also shared by her colleague.
– Our students, but also us teachers, had a fantastic experience on this project. The most valuable thing for us is that we know how to apply what we learned in Split, in our own environment and how to raise awareness about preserving the planet among others in our school, – says professor Suzana Tnokova Kuzmanovska.
And finally, I would like to emphasize once again that I am particularly happy to have had the opportunity to share these topics with my fellow Macedonian citizens, young people who can do a lot to improve the situation in our country – in terms of waste management – in the future.
