From June 29 to July 3, twenty of our campers aged 9 to 13 immersed themselves in the world of eco-urbanism. Our mission was ambitious — to design and build a miniature model of a modern eco-friendly city.
Everything began with an exciting quest on the first day, during which the children discovered an old city plan and worked together to develop a blueprint for their future project. Right afterwards, the teams planted fast-growing seeds that would later become the greenery of their city model. During a walk in one of Vilnius’ parks that same day, the children noticed a rainwater harvesting system. Inspired by this idea, they incorporated it into their own project by designing and building a rainwater filtration system.
Every day was full of creativity and teamwork. Using recycled materials, the participants built houses and public buildings, designed ground and aerial transportation, created parks, parking areas, cycling paths, and pedestrian walkways. They also prepared a wind power generation zone together with an American volunteer from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), who helped them bring their boldest engineering ideas to life.
Of course, there was plenty of time for fun as well. Every afternoon after lunch, the children enjoyed active outdoor games. They also took part in several special excursions. At the invitation of the Embassy of Denmark, together with Grete Sillasen, Ambassador of Denmark to Lithuania, and Olha Nikitchenko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania, we visited the exhibition “This Flower Looks Like a Drone” by Ukrainian children in collaboration with Danish artist Eske Touborg at the Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall Museum. Besides exploring the exhibition, the children left handprints on a shared canvas as a symbolic greeting to Ukraine.
The camp concluded with a trip to „Mokslo Sala“ Science Museum in Kaunas, where the children explored how various mechanisms work and learned more about humanity’s impact on the environment through interactive exhibits. The experience left a lasting impression on everyone. After returning to the Ukrainian Centre, the children proudly presented their completed eco-city to their families and friends — and everything worked perfectly. Powered by solar and wind energy, the lights came on in every building, while clean water flowed from the filtration station.
The camp ended with a heartwarming screening of a short film capturing the bright moments and friendships formed throughout these five unforgettable days. We are incredibly grateful to our young inventors and our wonderful volunteers for their teamwork, creativity, and dedication to building a better future for our planet!
*Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Social Fund Agency. Neither the European Union nor the Granting Authority can be held responsible for them.