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2025 | Capacity building and training | Projects | Projects | Projects

PARKCONNECT – Digital tools for environmental education

PARKCONNECT is a European project that aims to enhance urban and natural parks as spaces for learning and social cohesion through digital innovation, youth engagement, and gamification. The initiative involves young people—particularly NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training)—youth workers, and park managers in the development and use of digital tools that promote environmental education and biodiversity awareness at both local and European levels.

Among its main outputs are the first-ever EU Parks Digital Map and the PARKCONNECT App, an interactive, user-generated platform designed to create educational treasure hunts in parks across Europe.

Objectives
PARKCONNECT seeks to:

  • Engage NEET youth as active promoters of educational activities in parks, enhancing their skills and employment prospects.
  • Strengthen the capacity of European youth organizations in digital and non-formal education, especially through inclusive and resilient outdoor learning experiences.
  • Promote parks as spaces for environmental education, intergenerational dialogue, and civic participation.

Planned activities
The project will:

  • Develop the EU Parks Digital Map, an online platform connecting European parks to share events, activities, and best practices in environmental education, biodiversity, and community building.
  • Create the PARKCONNECT App, a digital tool for youth and youth workers to design and carry out educational treasure hunts in parks.
  • Deliver training programmes for 18 NEET youth to develop skills in youth work and environmental education.
  • Organize public events, workshops, and local activities in each partner country, involving more than 365 participants.

Partnership
The project is coordinated by Fondazione Ecosistemi (Italy) and involves four partner organizations active in the fields of education and the environment: Together for Success (Skopje, North Macedonia), Arteteka Limited (Dublin, Irlanda), Asociación Iroko Desarrollo Forestal Sostenible (Madrid, Spain), Sdruzhenie Walk Together  (Sofia, Bulgaria).

 

Project duration: 18 months (January 2025 – June 2026)
Project website: under development
Contacts: Thais Palermo, Sabina Nicolella
Area: Capacity Building and Training for Sustainability
Keywords: Environmental education, NEET youth, Parks, Gamification, Social inclusion

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