2023 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"

“Ave para Todos” started because our water lines were one of the worst aspects that our city had in terms of environment. Even though we already had a cleaning plan,  the city hall decided to upgrade this plan, and create a project more focused on the community, and how they could help us maintain the river clean and preserve it.

Within the regional Portuguese context, this project is distinctive as there are currently no similar initiatives in the region. The project is characterized by its multidisciplinary approach, which includes scientific research as well as communication and environmental education components. The latter are designed to provide the community, especially young people with knowledge and persuasive arguments for decision-making regarding the preservation and conservation of rivers and their biodiversity.

The project's methodology combined several different approaches, including environmental education in schools, a communication campaign on the preservation of water lines, and scientific research and environmental education that resulted in the publication of a book about the methodology of this project, finalizing with an expansion of the project for two local secondary water lines.

The “Ave para Todos” project has employed a variety of communication strategies to engage the population. The project was promoted by the Landscape Laboratory, which has used multiple channels such as its website, social media platforms, and newsletters to promote the project's activities and results. Besides that, a book was published containing all the methodology of the project so that other municipalities could learn from it and implement the same type of projects in their own region.

This project had a lot of different methods of evaluation, the environmental education component of the project underwent a more thorough evaluation process through the administration of questionnaires to all students at both the start and end of the program. Furthermore, social media platforms were used to disseminate project information and to engage with the public.

The involvement of the community, particularly youth, was a vital component of the project. Habits developed in early ages tend to endure into adulthood, and it is essential to create a relationship of respect for nature conservation from an early age. Besides that, the fact that these young participants saw their ideas being used by the local government can have a huge impact in their future professional life, their decision-making and in their political trust. 

In conclusion, “Ave para Todos'' was a successful initiative that achieved its main objective of creating a bond between the participants and the Ave River, but also promoting river conservation through education and research. It is a stepping stone and an alternative approach that can be replicated and used on a national or international level. 

https://www.labpaisagem.pt/oaveparatodos/ (External link)