One park many stories are about people who connect to create a better life for the community
A place that used to be a dump has been transformed into a park. By bringing together the hands and the minds of the locals, this park is now a place where we celebrate our culture, it is a place where the local school, kindergarten and scouts learn about nature, it is a place where art lives, it is a place for sports and active and healthy lifestyle. It is a place which brings together the community and gives the locals opportunities a reason to be proud of.
Local
Latvia
The Gulbene Municipality
Mainly rural
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-07-01
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Gulbenes novada Stradu pagasta pārvalde Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Alise Last name of representative: Rubene - Dūne Gender: Female Nationality: Latvia If relevant, please select your other nationality: Latvia Function: Culture work coordinator, project coordinator Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Brīvības iela 8 Town: Gulbene Postal code: LV-4401 Country: Latvia Direct Tel:+371 26 484 322 E-mail:alise.rubene-dune@gulbene.lv Website:https://www.stradi.lv/
This project is about a community involvement, cooperation and transformation of a space which used to be an are full of waste into a park. It is about many small initiatives which have helped to create a space for everyone.
Clean ups, cultural projects, art installations, educational elements and sport inventory, many events and activities for all age groups have helped to gain an the aim of a park. None of activities would be possible without the citizen involvement, support from the local municipality and also collaboration between people and institutions.
Every step has been thought through keeping in mind the nature friendly and aesthetic aspects. The space is still full of biological diversity -trees, plants and and even some animals.
Park has become a part of the local education institution work space. It is being used to hold the sport lessons, language lessons, space for children to explore the nature and to play. This park is used by all age groups. Young people organize youth projects and concerts in this space. It is a place for cultural events like traditional celebrations, concerts, theatre, sport events.
The park of Stāķi is a local phenomenon, because it proves that the community can make an impact of their own living environment and decision making. It shows how working together with the municipality and different organizations there can be a good collaboration and a positive result.
The tranformation of this space has brought many new opportunities for the locals. We have established new traditions, discovered new ways of involving and actually connected with each other in a way that we did not connect before.
Together
Rebuild
Create
Traditions
Opportunities
The park of Stāķi and the locals has been participating the national project called "THE BIG CLEANUP IN LATVIA", where the municipality, the locals and the institutions come together to clean up an outdoor space. Since the year of 2014 this space is being cleaned up every year. Mostly it consisted of waste that has been thrown out in the Soviet Union times.
Also, time to time, the local youth center and the Scout movement come and clean up the park with young people from the closest villages.
Since the first clean up, the park has changed a lot, it has become free of waste, it has become safer for animals and people. This park and the clean up has brought together locals and brought a positive change in the mindset and habits of the community.
With the help of the local school, teachers and students, a part of a park has been transformed into an outdoor classroom. This classroom consists of a part where students can sit in a circle on wood logs and talk about subjects. The other part is where students can walk on a barefoot trail and feel the different nature materials. The classroom is available for anyone in any season and any time of a day. Time to time the local school teachers prepare some kind of study material which is placed in this classroom for everyone who wants to learn it. The park of Stāķi has also become a sport field for the sport lessons. The local kindergarten is coming to a park to explore, to play and to enjoy the nature.
In a project "My story for Latvia" we restored an old barn into an outdoor cinema. Which is now a place where cultural events take place.
The park of Stāķi is being transformed by being respectful of nature, honoring the historical heritage, finding solutions which would be the most harmonious for the nature and people who use this space. When we create a new installation or environmental object, we find a place which used to be a dump and then transform it into something beautiful. For example, there used to be a big concrete block which we transformed into a ''Nature guestroom'' - an art installation made of tile and dish mosaic. The materials were donated by the locals. In this park you can also see an art object "Neverending heart" which is made by art the Art Academy of Latvia students.
The Municipality of Gulbene created a disk golf trail. Anyone who wants, can play this sport for free as the municipality provides the inventory and it is available 24/7.
Every year many events are held in the park of Stāķi. Starting with the traditional Latvian celebrations like Easter and Meteņi, also different kind of international projects, culture and youth activities. At these events everybody is welcome to take participation. Mostly all activities are organized by the municipality of Gulbene and all of the activities in the park are for free. During the summer time this is a place where people can watch outdoor theatre, concerts, movies. All year long, different kind of sport activities happens in the park of Stāķi - bicycle rides, orientation sport, disc golf, Nordic walking lessons and many more activities.
With every project that has been implemented in this park, we try to keep the level of aesthetics and cohesion so that people can enjoy not only the activities, but also the park itself. We believe that you do not need a lot to bring the best. Every part and object in the park is different but it all blends well together in some way.
This park has brought also new traditions in the community. People come together more often because finally the locals actually have place where to come together.
From the first day when people came together for the park clean up, this is a place where everybody is welcomed. During the week days, families with young children use this park for daily walks, because its calm and it is one of the rare places in the area where it is safe to walk with a baby stroller. Young people like to spend time here because there are activities like disc golf which they can play while spending time with each other. Older people choose to take walks in the park while going to their garden. Next to the park is an area where locals can rent a space from the municipality of Gulbene and make this space into their gardens. This is a very common form in Latvia, and it is especially beneficial for people who live in flats. Some people chose to come to the park of Stāķi for a lunch break from work.
At every step of transforming the space of park of Stāķi, the locals have come together and worked to reach the aim of clean, pleasant and safe place to spend time together. People from different backgrounds, with different kind of abilities and skills came together to make a positive change and to learn. This is a place which includes and welcomes everyone. It is a place where children and parents bond even more in Fathers day celebration, this is a place where people feel the love for Latvia in the 18th of November, this is a place where people celebrate their birthdays, this is a place which is visited by hundreds of tourists, this is a place witch brings together art, sport, culture, education and nature. It is a place that we are very proud of.
The citizens are the main reason this park has become a park. The involment of the locals can be seen in every step in the development of this place. Starting with the clean ups, continuing with the donations of materials, time and skills and up to attending the events that take place in this park. This place is through and through an example of citizen involment.
The society has gained not only a place where to spend time, but also new traditions, daily activities and better level of living and environment in general.
Citizens are the ones who give and get. There are people who only attend clean ups, there are people who only attend cultural events, there are people that involve in every part of this parks life. The most important thing is that the community is more aware and care more about their surroundings and the change of this park has inspired more changes in the area. There are many other examples of the community activities and positive changes in the same village and neighbor villages.
Every project in this park includes different local groups, organizations and institutions. Most of the design aspects are being discussed with the head of the Stradi parish (an area in which the park of Stāķi is placed, a part of Gulbene Municipality), the culture work coordinator and the team of locals which are guiding a project.
There has been a project which was implemented by the non profit organisation called "The development organisation of Stāķi", who has implemented different kind of projects in the village of Stāķi.
Some projects are being implemented by the local Primary school of Stāķi. The teachers, technical workers and students come together to do something for the community.
There is also an initiative group called "The activists of the park of Stāķi" who take opportunities to bring something good for the park. For example there has been a project where they can acquire some wood materials. With there wood materials they have made a wooden bridge over a trench and made signs.
The youth center, culture and sport event organisers organize clean ups, different kind of activities and celebrations for the locals.
Every week the Scout movement organize their activities in the park. They are also the ones who include clean up activities in their activity plan.
All of the projects that have been implemented in this park involve different kinds of fields and representatives. Each project brings along not only the specialists of the field, but also locals who learn during the process and who come up with creative solutions and new ideas.
Every project involves the land owner which is the municipality of Gulbene. A specialist which sees the environment, constructional and aesthetical aspects bring their thoughts and recommendations to the table. Together with the local group that implements the project, they try to look for the best solution.
This process always is quite harmonious, but it requires a leader who has the overview. Usually everyone is very responsive and interested in a good partnership.
This project has helped to bring people together and to give them something to be proud of. By involving themselves in this park, people strenghtened their bong with this place and with this village. By the events and projects that have taken place in the park of Stāķi, people feel conected and they feel proud. Whenever locals have visitors, they bring their guests to the park, because this is a place where they can surprise them with by showing all the different art objects and activities that lives in this park. The park of Stāķi is also very commonly visited by tourists. We do not have a statistics, but the google search data shows that the Park of Stāķi has been searched for 98,000 times, but the art object Nature Guestroom has been searched for 72,500 times.
I believe that even the smallest thing can affect everything. One positive environmental change can change a completely different field. In my mind if we will have a pleasant surroundings, we might have more people who choose to live here. If more people will live here, we will have more children attending the local school and kindergarten. If the children will be attending the school here, parents might as well will choose to work here or to develop their business in the municipality of Gulbene. If more people will start their businesses here, they might want to improve the environment even more.
One more positive change that has been observed, is that people are more opened up for involving in physical actions, like making street art in different areas and also they have started talking more about the things and changes that they like and dislike.
Education is about establishing a connection between the knowledge and the experience of the learners. Positive impacts of Outdoor Learning activities and experiences are invaluable. They have proven to increase academic achievement, personal and social development, they lead to increased well-being and mental-health, and raise awareness on care for the environment. Outdoor Learning is planned, and purposeful way of learning led by a teacher, instructor, coach, or a guide.One of the key parts of the overall process is learning about the environment in which the activity and experience takes place. This is why these lessons places great importance on sharing specific knowledge and skills as well as the importance of changing the behavior and attitudes towards the environment. All this leads to increased health and well-being as well as environmental awareness.
Another innovative aspect of this park is that is consists of sustainable art elements which are functional and aesthetic, and made of reused materials. An example is the Nature guestroom which is made on an old concrete block using old dishes and tiles. The object is art itself, but it is also functional - its has a concrete sofa and arm chair functions, as well as the table can be used as an surface and also as chess table. People use this place not olny as an tourism object, but also to have a piknic with family, to celebrate birthday with a cake and many more other ocassions.
Approach used in this project is based on the involvement of people and different kind of activities. By organising different kind of activities, we have reached different interest groups of people.
By finding ways to adapt projects that have reached us, we gained opportunities to transform this space. Every project have been modified to be functional, aesthetic and nature friendly.
We have invited people and organizations to involve in this park. For example we received a woodchip which is a production left over from in company from our area. We used this woodchip to create trails in the park. They are nature friendly and create a cohesive look.
Local clean ups can be as one of the process that can change a lot. It is a starting point for people comming together. By creating or doing something for the community, people gain the sence of responsibility for the place where they have spend time and energy in.
Invite people to involve in projects, for example, to help implementing them or to donate things they do not need anymore. It creates a bond between the project and the people. Afterwards, people feel like they are a part of this project.
Organising events in a place which is not ''finished'' or ''perfectly''. By allowing people to see the early stage of the project, they are the ones that evaluate and appreciate the progress.
This park is an exmple of how locals can influence the environment that they live in. By attending a clean up it is possible to make a space clean and safe for nature, animals and people. And it is usually a starting point for something bigger. When people see that they can bring a good change, they become more aware of the influence they have. And that motivates people to continue this change.
Our local solution of creating new spaces and installations by using donated materials as much as it was possible is a proof that you can reuse materials and to rebuild spaces that looks aestheticly pleasing and bring joy to people.
