Climate change awareness activities rounded off with a mural of gratitude to Mother Nature in Zagreb

Posted on 24 October 2022

Young people from four Croatian schools, led by WWF experts, discussed the role of humans in stimulating climate change, but also about potential solutions to save the climate.

With the aim of making Croatian citizens aware of climate change and encouraging them to fight against this globally growing problem, the walls of primary schools in four Croatian cities are decorated with murals that point to the consequences of the climate crisis, and at the same time are a symbol of gratitude to Mother Nature. In addition to the painting of eco-murals, educational climate and graffiti workshops for young people were also organized and held in Osijek, Rijeka, Sisak and Zagreb.

In order to bring this topic closer to the younger generations and encourage them to take climate action, in addition to painting the mural, an educational workshops were held for students, where they discussed with environmental experts from WWF Adria the causes and consequences of climate change, the impact of man on the environment, as well as the steps they can take themselves to contribute to mitigating climate change.

“Earth is a selflessly and endlessly giving planet. Everything we need for life was provided by nature for free. However, the fact that there are limits to which we can exploit and endanger our planet is shown by increasingly frequent heat waves, droughts, fires, floods, devastating storms... The consequences of climate change can be mitigated, but drastic changes are needed in the areas of transport, energy, industry, housing, waste management and agriculture, and education is also crucial, especially young people, who we must include more in the conversation about the climate, since they will shape the future of the planet", said Pinija Poljaković from WWF Adria.

In a series of climate murals, painted over the past few weeks at schools in Osijek, Rijeka, Sisak and now Zagreb, each carries a powerful warning message about the devastating impacts of climate change and the importance of protecting the environment from human negative impact on entire ecosystems. The last in the series, the one from primary school Dugave from Zagreb is dedicated to Mother Nature as the creator of life on Earth, but which, under the negative influence of man, can also show its unfavorable side. It was painted by the artistic duo Casino and Royal from the “Graffiti na gradele” collective, which brings together some of the best Croatian street art artists.

Activities in Zagreb continued in Osijek, Rijeka and Sisak. The murals in Osijek and Sisak were also painted by the aforementioned tandem Casino and Royal, and while one shows the contrast of a sustainable and unsustainable world, a bright future and the future that threatens us if we do not address climate change, the other, with the motif of an endangered species of polar bear, warns of the loss of their habitats due to global warming.

The Rijeka mural goes a step further, projecting a vision of the future of the planet in which a tree as a symbol of nature is isolated under a glass bell to be saved, and is the work of artist Vladimir Tomić Mosko.

"After we "breathed" a dose of pessimism into the first three murals in order to encourage the observer to think about the effect of climate change and awaken his conscience, we decided to end the cycle on a positive note, expressing our gratitude to Mother Nature. Our guiding thought was to emphasize that we have an amazing, generous planet that we shouldn't take for granted because nature can rebel and return to us mercilessly. We hope that this mural will remind every passerby of all the riches that nature gives us and encourage him to take a more responsible attitude towards our planet", said artist Hrvoje Kraljević from the “Graffiti na gradele” collective.

In addition to educational workshops and mural painting, students also learned about the topic of climate change by making their own graffiti under the guidance of educator Krešimir Golubić, also from the “Graffiti na gradele” collective, sending significant messages, one of which was that we don't have a planet B that we can move to if we destroy nature and threaten the survival of the Earth.

The mentioned activities are part of the European Climate Pact initiative, which the European Commission implements in 27 EU member states. It is a movement of people united around the common goal of building a more sustainable Europe, and anyone who wants to contribute to the fight against climate change can join.

"Everyone who wants to contribute to the fight against climate change, exchange knowledge and experience or propose solutions can find their place in the EU climate pact. All it takes is to make a small or big change in your daily life. This can be walking or riding a bicycle instead of a car, reducing the heating temperature in winter or increasing the temperature of the air conditioner in summer, eating seasonal, local food and less meat, installing solar panels, repairing things instead of buying new ones and many others. A small change by an individual may not seem to make a difference, but when we add up the small steps of many individuals, they can have a big impact. These students are future voters, consumers, company managers and politicians, and that's why they should be educated about this topic and included in the discussion," said dr.sc. Julije Domac, ambassador of the European Climate Pact, director of REGEA and advisor to the President of the Republic of Croatia for energy and climate.

All citizens can join the fight for a better tomorrow by choosing one or more personal goals for climate protection on the platform of the European Climate Pact called Count us in, and at the same time calculate their CO2 footprint and how much they have directly helped the Earth.

Climate pact for impact - workshop

Climate change awareness activities rounded off with a mural of gratitude to Mother Nature in Zagreb

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