Area
Environmental, social
GOAL(s)
Select most relevant to SDGs, max. 3 goals (erase the not relevant ones)
GOAL 4: Quality Education
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 13: Climate Action
Summary (description and reason to be)
The “Centre of the Earth” is an award-winning hub for environmental education operated by Organization Earth as a functioning organic, urban, social farm at the same time, offers nature-based educational programs for schools and pupils. It includes a seasonal organic vegetable garden and a biodiversity garden. Its goal is to contribute to resilience to climate change, through the adoption of a fairer and more sustainable local and global production and consumption, rooted in an integrated ecosystem approach. The specific objective of the farm is the adaptation and mitigation to climate change through more sustainable food production and consumption, in the framework of the right to adequate food for all.
Target: Vulnerable Group (VG) and/or type of community
General Public, Families, Children, Vulnerable groups (NEETs, refugees/migrants, people with intellectual disabilities), Farmers and Corporations.
Application setting: context
All farming and educational activities in the Centre of the Earth involve sustainable methods such as organic, agroecological, and permaculture. Cooking activities include products which are farmed sustainably. The activities of the Centre of Earth are funded by European projects, donations, school visits and CSR events.
Objectives
The specific objective of the farm is the adaptation and mitigation to climate change through more sustainable food production and consumption, in the framework of the right to adequate food for all. The “Center of the Earth” that was created & designed by Organization Earth to change how people view the environment and nature, by showing the optimistic & happy side of nature’s processes, as well as to offer practical to-dos we can all adopt to make us (and the world) feel better, in a place you can actually visit.
Activities
- Environmental awareness programs
- Non typical experiential workshops
- Trainings for vulnerable population
- Food waste
- Upcycling
- Composting
- SDGs
- Collective kitchen
Results
Since its opening in 2012, the Center has welcomed more than 150.000 visitors, school groups during the week, families on the weekends, when there are free workshops on cooking and foraging, environmental games & guided tours. Natural exhibits include showcases inhabited by the mini-beasts that have colonized the area, the insects, frogs, and creepy crawlies that are so beguiling to kids; a stable with horses; organic vegetable patches, colorfully guarded by floppy scarecrows; a collection of old farming equipment; composting; and more ongoing examples of how Nature heals itself.
In 2016 Organization Earth and its initiative “Centre of the Earth” was named as the “Best Initiative in the World that Connects People to Nature” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In 2019 it was recognized as the “NGO of the Year” in the category “Environment”, by receiving the Hellenic Responsible Business Award.
In 2023 it took the prize of the “Edible Cities Network Awards” for being the “Most Innovative Social Engagement Process”.
Strengths
- Environmental awareness raising workshops
- Strong relationships and cooperations
- Initiatives that come up with new and impactful ways of engaging with the citizens in their city
- Inclusion of all the people
- Free workshops for everyone. Collective cuisine
Weaknesses
After COVID-19 it is difficult to create network again from the beginning
Year and length (duration)
Since its opening in 2012, the Center has welcomed more than 100.000 visitors during the week, families on the weekends, when there are free workshops on cooking and foraging, environmental games & guided tours.
References (Bibliography, URLs, suggested readings)
https://www.organizationearth.org/
https://www.facebook.com/OrganizationEarth
https://www.instagram.com/organizationearth_gr/
