Albergaria + Ativa

Duration: January 2022 – March 2023

The project

In urban but mainly in rural contexts, the senior population has been increasingly affected by isolation and consequent social exclusion, problems accentuated with the pandemic caused by COVID-19 by the need to protect this more sensitive population from contagion and by the obligation of general prophylactic confinement. Physical, cognitive and mental health of this group are especially affected by these factors.

Albergaria + Ativa project, awarded at the 3rd edition of the BPI Fundação "la Caixa" Rural 2021 Award, aims, on the one hand, to promote community development in disadvantaged rural areas in the municipality of Albergaria-a-Velha, through the inclusion and participation of the senior population in environmental volunteering activities, interpretative walks and intergenerational sessions for sharing knowledge.

On the other hand, this project also aims to promote active ageing and combat isolation and social exclusion, raising the awareness of the senior population in the municipality of Albergaria-a-Velha for the protection and conservation of local biodiversity.

Associação BioLiving is the promoter of this project and has formed several partnerships, such as with Associação Social para Idosos com Vida (ASIV), with PRAVE - Associação de Promoção de Albergaria-a-Velha and with the Municipality of Albergaria-a-Velha.

The project is intended to develop and promote various actions, more specifically volunteer actions for groups of seniors (litter collection, planting, sowing, creation of a community vegetable garden and beekeeping flower beds and installation of fauna shelters), promoting environmental education and good environmental citizenship practices; conduct interpretative group walks (botanical and sensory tours, and observation of birds and amphibians), providing information about the fauna and flora of natural spaces; and organise intergenerational sessions for mutual sharing of knowledge (sewing, carpentry, basket weaving, horticulture, bread making, cereal grinding, use of social networks and good practices in waste separation), valuing the knowledge of each generation, bringing them closer together through sharing, and fostering social interaction, mutual respect and a citizenship of dialogue and solidarity.

At the end of the project, it is expected that participants will see their physical, cognitive and emotional conditions improved, resulting in improvement of their quality of life. At the same time, they are expected to be more sensitive to environmental issues within the community, increasing their sense of belonging, improving their situation in terms of social inclusion and rise their motivation for life and active and healthy ageing.