OZO Ostrava supports environmentally-focused projects

Eighteen entities have submitted their projects to the thematic calls announced by OZO Ostrava. Nine selected projects will receive a total of CZK 846,500, more than double compared to last year, which was the first year of the thematic calls.

“As in the first year, this year, too, we have selected original projects concerning the various areas of life in the city which contribute to the education of all generations”, says Karel Belda, an executive of OZO Ostrava, adding that all successful projects are in line with the objective of the thematic calls. “These are meaningful activities aimed at increasing waste utilization rates and improving the environment”, he explains.

Twelve projects were submitted to the Green Light for Ostrava call, focusing on beautification, cleaning, and improvement of the city. Six of them selected by the OZO Selection Committee will receive a total of CZK 481,500. Six projects have been submitted to the thematic call New Life to Old Things, which supports creative ideas for the reuse of waste. OZO will grant CZK 365,000 to three of these projects.

Entities successful in the thematic call Green Light for Ostrava include non-profit organization Life Together with the project Let’s Clean our Place. It is focused on waste disposal in a socially excluded area, where local residents who want to make the surroundings of their houses more attractive will also be involved in a major cleaning. Another project implemented by the Ostrava City Hospital is entitled More Attractive Municipal Hospital and focuses on the beautification of the city and creating a more attractive environment. Technical Services of Moravská Ostrava a Přívoz have succeeded with the project of beautification of the park on Slovenská street, and the cultural centre Cooltour Ostrava will use the support from OZO Ostrava to implement the Market Community Park project. Nursery school Blahoslavova 6 has also succeeded in the thematic call, already for the second time, this time with its Eco Games 2 project, which aims to make children familiar with nature, actively involving them in its protection and teaching them to respect the environment. While last year the focus was on plants, this year the children will take care of white hedgehogs. And it’s not the only nursery school that has succeeded. Also successful was the project of the Waldorf Primary and Nursery School Ostrava entitled Greener Nursery School in the Heart of Přívoz.

“We would like to renovate the areas around the school building and make them cosier. So we will use the CZK 50,000 to repair the fence, and make various nooks in the garden with an insect hotel, a beetle lair, a composter and flowerbeds with seedlings”, says Martina Vůjtková of the Waldorf Primary and Nursery School, adding that children will also be involved in making the planned changes. “We have two classes, so each of them can build their insect house, the children will help to lay the composter and engage in other activities”, says Ms Vůjtková.

Another interesting project that succeeded in the thematic call is New Life to Old Things. GAUDE, a non-profit organisation, will create an installation from discarded bicycles and a wheelchair, and the Happy Children Society – Butterfly Nursery will implement the project New Experiments in the Old Way, which aims to stimulate children in a meaningful way and show them the secrets that are hidden in very ordinary things. Support also goes to Old Arena Ostrava and its project Entrance Hall Interier / Creative Workshop.

“I am an architect and in my profession I look for ways to achieve sustainable development, ecology and responsibility. That’s why I have decided to realize my idea in the form of an architectural studio, which will include a shop with restored furniture and a workshop in which we will restore furniture. In addition, we will also organize workshops where people will have the opportunity to learn about furniture renovation techniques and possibly repair their own stuff. We will teach them how to save furniture to which they have an emotional relationship, but do not know how to do it”, explains Kateřina Dvořáčková, Managing Director of the Old Arena Ostrava. “We want to keep old furniture from being thrown away, we want to see it return to life. We want to contribute to reducing the current trend of throwing away used things, which are then replaced by new, but often substantially lower-quality ones. Old furniture is mostly made of solid wood and with just a little work it may look good again.”

All supported projects should take place between June and November of this year. In December, OZO Ostrava will evaluate this year’s supported projects and decide on the total amount it intends to make in the next year of thematic calls. New calls will then be announced in January 2019.