Climate Action Greece Project #49055

Integration Through Permaculture

by Sporos Regeneration Institute

Project Report | Dec 17, 2024
Closing Titles for 2024 from the Sporos Team

By Polly Flourentzou | Operations Manager

As we close 2024, we celebrate a whirlwind of growth, connection and meaningful impact at Sporos Regeneration Institute—and look forward to even greater achievements ahead!

We've been deeply immersed in our Wild Harvest project, funded by Impetus, dedicated to preserving the ethnobotany of Lesvos. While the project didn’t require it, we felt compelled to share activities with the refugee community—a heartfelt decision that blossomed into something truly special. At our EcoHub garden, we held two inspiring workshops where refugees joined us in discussions about foraging wild plants in their home countries, their cultural uses and healing properties. We also introduced them to local European plants and got our hands dirty with experiential herb propagation activities.

Another highlight, was our eco-printing workshop, where art met nature. Participants learned to extract natural dyes from plants and trees, transforming leaves and flowers into stunning prints and patterns. It was a vibrant, joyful experience that left us in awe of the creativity and enthusiasm shared by everyone who joined.

Meanwhile, our fall and winter garden has already begun to share its abundance. Squashes are rolling in and we are delighted to soon distribute sweet potatoes to camp residents. It's humbling to see the EcoHub garden as well as the Sporos farm continue to nourish and provide, as we keep strengthening our bonds with the community.

In November, olive season arrived, and what a season it has been! This year, we celebrated a bountiful olive harvest. Alongside our core crew of seasoned harvesters, we welcomed and trained a new asylum-seeker and camp resident in olive-picking techniques. Not only did he excel in learning the craft, but we hope this hands-on training opens up further opportunities for him as the olive season continues into the new year.

On the international front, we were thrilled to participate in the Growing Together Erasmus+ training in France. Hosted by Association Regain in the serene setting of La Borie Noble, the program brought together youth workers, educators, and activists to explore innovative approaches to social inclusion and sustainability. Through the lens of social permaculture, we engaged in collaborative design processes, experiential learning, and practical workshops aimed at fostering cultural diversity and community resilience. The program equipped participants with tools to empower migrant populations, bridge cultural divides, and promote ecological awareness. It was a week of experiential learning and connection.

We also proudly wrapped up our very first Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program! Our young entrepreneur-in-residence, a dynamic project manager from Spain, has been thriving at the EcoHub. She has not only helped us keep things running smoothly amidst a rising flow of refugee visitors but is also learning the ropes to set up her own organization back home. Seeing her growth and initiative has been incredibly rewarding.

We are delighted to share the culmination of a wonderful collaboration with the Hamilton Lugar School Global Development Consulting (GDC) student group at Indiana University. This partnership resulted in the creation of a comprehensive document and presentation to secure funding for a kitchen project that will be intergrating local and refugee women—a vision we hope to launch in the coming months.

The proposed kitchen will be cooking dinners on a pop up basis, offering employment opportunities while showcasing the beauty of self-sufficiency and community resilience. The document, crafted with GDC's expertise, will allow us to confidently approach donors and investors to turn this vision into reality.

As always, none of this would be possible without your support. To our cherished donors: thank you for being a vital part of this journey. Your generosity helps us keep planting seeds—literal and figurative—of hope and resilience. From all of us at Sporos Regeneration Institute, we wish you a warm and peaceful holiday season. May the new year bring you joy and abundance.

With gratitude and a smile,
The Sporos Team

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Aug 22, 2024
Sun, Fun, and Green Thumbs: Wrapping Up a Sizzling

By Polly Flourentzou | Operations Manager

Growing beans

We hope this message finds you well and that you're enjoying the vibrant days of summer! Here at Sporos, we've been busier than ever, forging new connections, launching exciting initiatives, and deepening our commitment to community and environmental stewardship. This season has been one of growth, collaboration and we're thrilled to share some of the remarkable developments that have unfolded over the past few months.

One of the most significant highlights this summer has been our active collaboration with various European organisations, particularly through Erasmus projects. A standout initiative from these partnerships is the "Growing Together" training event in La Borie Noble, France, where Sporos will be contributing by sending an instructor and 3 participants. This training focuses on integrating sustainability, permaculture and social inclusion, particularly for migrant communities. The program aims to equip youth workers with skills and tools to enhance the integration of migrants into their communities through hands-on learning, permaculture education and digital tools.

We are also well into the organisation of the Green-EU project. This project, funded by the EU's Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) program, aims to enhance European resilience to climate change by fostering civic participation and awareness. It engages citizens, local communities and civil society through a transnational survey across 18 EU countries, assessing climate awareness and understanding. The project also includes events focused on the circular economy, biodiversity conservation and renewable energy, alongside workshops, public debates and educational activities. Emphasising inclusivity, it seeks to strengthen connections between citizens and EU institutions, empowering diverse communities to actively shape climate policies and contribute to a sustainable future. Sporos will play a major role in this event as a partner and will organize seminars and small conference in Lesvos on how permaculture can offer adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change.

We're also delighted to share that Nuria is our first trainee entrepreneur funded by the Erasmus Young Entrepreneurs program, which we have recently been approved to host and train young entrepreneurs under. She has hit the ground running and is currently offering her skills while learning new ones as our EcoHub Manager. Under her leadership, we've expanded our reach within the community and have collaborated with different community volunteers over the last three months. We welcomed two volunteers from Afghanistan, three from Yemen, and our most recent addition, a volunteer from Syria. Their energy and enthusiasm have been a tremendous asset to our team, enriching our projects and particularly contributing to our efforts to create a more inclusive and welcoming space for all.

We're also broadening our operations with the acquisition of additional land and a new greenhouse that was generously given to us to regenerate by our neighbours at the farm. This expansion will allow us to enhance our cultivation efforts and increase our impact. However, this summer has posed unique challenges for our growing season, as we've faced extreme heatwaves that have tested our resilience. Despite these hurdles, our team has persevered and we're excited about the potential of these new resources to support our mission.

A particularly rewarding experience this summer has been our involvement in teaching various sessions with migrant children at the EcoHub. The events were a beautiful celebration of diversity, showcasing the power of community and the importance of cultural exchange.

In addition to our ongoing projects, we've been developing the outdoor space at our headquarters in Milies to transform it into a vibrant social hub where people can gather for events, workshops and community activities. This new space will provide a welcoming environment for connection, learning, cooking, furthering our mission to create spaces where people can reconnect with nature and each other.

We're also excited to announce a new citizen science project we launched in July, funded by Impetus. This initiative engages community members in scientific research, fostering a deeper understanding of local ecosystems. It’s another step in our journey to create a more sustainable and connected world, where knowledge is passed down through generations and people learn to use wild edible plants as an alternative source of nutrition. The "Wild Harvest" project is an initiative that also celebrates the cultural heritage intricately linked to the natural landscape of our region.

As we look ahead, it's important to acknowledge the changes we've observed in the refugee community on Lesvos. The number of new arrivals has decreased significantly and we’re seeing a shift in the processing of their applications, which are now being handled more efficiently. This change has brought a sense of hope and progress. We remain committed to supporting these individuals as they navigate the next steps in their journeys.

This summer has been nothing short of transformative, filled with new beginnings and strengthened by the unwavering support of our community. Your continued generosity has made all of this possible, and we are deeply grateful for your commitment to our mission. As we move forward and nurture our seeds into seedlings, we are excited to continue growing, learning and re-wilding together. Baby steps bring major changes and we are so thankful to have you as the wind in our sails.

Veg Give aways to camp residents

Making seedlings

The late summer team

EcoHub learning activity

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Apr 25, 2024
Vibrant Spring, our season of Renewal

By Polly Flourentzou | Operations Manager

We hope that wherever you are in the world, the gentle warmth of spring has given you feelings of renewal and a lust for new beginnings. Here at Sporos we are very much into new beginnings on all fronts!

Over the past three months, your contributions have played a pivotal role in driving our mission forward and bringing about positive change in our community. We are now launching 2 new, ongoing projects and we have more in the pipeline that will take us well into 2025.

We are delighted to share some of the recent developments and achievements that your support has helped make possible. One of the highlights of this quarter was the introduction of "Family Days at Sporos," a series of events aimed at providing families with opportunities to connect with nature through play and exploration. For the first time we had children as young as 2 years old in our farm, doing a variation of messy play with natural materials. We named it “nature play” and it was so successful that we are considering to creating two different groups. Witnessing the joy and wonder on the faces of children as they engaged in nature-based activities, reaffirmed to us the importance of creating spaces where people can reconnect with the natural world, no matter the age. If you ask us, the younger the better! We were so overwhelmed with satisfaction as we received so many thank you messages after the event!

Additionally, your generosity has enabled us to launch the Ecocamp Project. The Ecocamp initiative, aims to establish an organic vegetable garden and educational centre within the Lesvos refugee camp. This project addresses several pressing issues faced by refugees in the camp, including, lack of green spaces and access to education, as well as education on important issues such as recycling and upcycling materials. We believe that the project's emphasis on holistic sustainability, inclusivity, and empowerment will make it truly impactful. More on that in the next quarter when we will be well into the first days of launching.

I am also thrilled to share that our team has been strengthened by the addition of new volunteers who bring fresh perspectives and energy to our projects. We also had a new community volunteer, Mohammed, from Afghanistan, a trained nurse who was absolutely lovely with kids and just an amazing person overall. We will miss him greatly as he recently received his papers and left the island. Our volunteer’s dedication and passion for our cause have been truly inspiring, and we are grateful for the positive impact they continue to make.

Apart from helping us in our planting frenzy at the Sporos farm so we can have a substantial harvest this summer season, they also designed and ran activities with children and adults at our EcoHub garden on Spring Equinox, which is an important festivity for a lot of different cultures of people living in the camp. The activities fostered a sense of community and connection with nature. It was heartwarming to see individuals of all ages coming together to celebrate the changing of seasons and engage in meaningful rituals and exchange traditions.

Another important project we launched this Spiring was an aeroponics STEM project in local schools islandwide. We take vertical tower gardens in primary schools and together with the teachers there, we create observation projects to compare aeroponics to normal crops. This project aims to provide hands-on learning on sustainability principles, and ecology. Overall, the project provides a complete learning experience that fosters curiosity, critical thinking, and environmental stewardship. We are planning to do 4 visits for each school until the end of the year and we have already booked 10 schools.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the ongoing support from you. Your commitment to our mission has allowed us to overcome challenges, seize opportunities, and make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. As we continue our journey, we want to express our heartfelt appreciation for your generosity. Watch this space as we are renewing, regenerating and re-wilding our way forward!

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