Festival “Straseni, mon amour!” dedicated to raising awareness about protection of environment, wastewater and biodiversity

Over 1,000 people took part in the festival “Straseni, mon amour!” dedicated to raising the awareness about quality public services organised on 8 August 2021 in the Nature Reserve “Codrii”, Lozova, Straseni.

The guests of the festival had the chance to rest, exchange, visit the fair,dance at the concert of the band Zdob si Zdub and enjoy a picturesque landscape of the “Codrii” Reserve.

They learned more about waste collection services by completing a puzzle with images of the cartoonist Alex Buret, could see how a sewer and an individual treatment plant looks like, learned methods of composting biodegradable waste. Visitors engaged in an open discussion with mayors and deputy mayors from the partner localities of the event – Straseni, Lozova, Vorniceni and Sireti, attended information workshops on water quality, types of waste, energy efficiency, ecosystem services, protection of biodiversity and birds, need plantations, etc.

There was also a collection of plastic, unused medical drugs, batteries and used equipment, exhibitions of energy efficiency – handmade solar panel and collector, a shelf with samples of products for an energy efficient home, where visitors could discuss with experts in the field.

The Local Action Groups from the region came with folk craftspersons who participated with exhibitions and sales of handicrafts. There were also biomass boilers, individual sewage and treatment plants, reusable bags and peat, ecological detergents, flowers, fruits, vegetables, cabbage rolls and pies prepared by people from Straseni district.

“The festival is dedicated to quality public services and people who love a civilized way of life, who work not only for the comfort of their own household, but who care about what happens outside their own fence, who are informed and involved. And because a civilized life means to create living conditions without harming, including nature, today’s event is also about environmental protection,” said Lilia Curchi, Executive Director of AJMTEM.

The event was organised by the Association of Environmental and Ecological Tourism Journalists AJMTEM with the financial support of the European Union, Sweden, and in partnership with the “Codrii” Reserve and the town halls of Straseni, Lozova, Vorniceni, Sireti and Zubresti.

The Association of Environmental and Ecological Tourism Journalists is the beneficiary of the Local Grants Programme of the European Union and implements the project “Civic involvement for quality public services” in Straseni district.

The Local Grants Programme is launched on the basis of the Single Support Framework of the European Union, granted to the Republic of Moldova (2017-2020) under the European Neighbourhood Instrument, through the action “Citizens Empowerment in the Republic of Moldova” (2019-2021), funded by to the European Union and implemented by the German Development Cooperation through GIZ. In the Centre Development Region, the project implementation partners are the Association for Efficient and Responsible Governance – AGER and AO ADR “Habitat”.