The urban space of the Wzgórze Housing Estate in Starachowice has been enriched with a new place for meetings, integration and ecological education. From today, the Social Garden officially operates in the estate. This is another step towards the complete metamorphosis of the estate revitalized by the city authorities over the last few years.
The over 100-year-old Wzgórze Housing Estate is the heart of Starachowice's revitalization. The oldest housing estate in our city has undergone a huge metamorphosis in recent years.
- Just a few years ago, in the center of the estate there were only storage rooms filled with coal and wood, the contents of which were used for firing in furnaces. However, we are changing the landscape of this place. We are renovating buildings so that residents no longer have to use coal furnaces and can be connected to the municipal heating network. We want to change the estate into a functional one so that its residents can live well here. Especially for them, we have created a Social Activity Center and a common room, which is a place for them to have fun, learn and generate generational integration - recalled the Mayor of Starachowice, Marek Materek, during the official opening of the garden.
The creation of a community garden is another activity under the project "Towards the Future: Starachowice Local Development Program" implemented in our city with support from the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.
- Today, we opened a Community Garden here, which was created in the estate with the involvement of the city, residents, volunteers and city institutions. It will be a place for meetings, integration, recreation and ecological education. A garden will not only beautify the area. It will be a place of activity and joint activities. Shrubs, flowers, herbaceous plants and vegetables will be a lesson in ecology for residents, and the garden itself will be a place for meetings, workshops and games. I am convinced that we are leaving the garden in the best hands, emphasized President Materek.
The role of garden hosts will be played by children and young people from this estate, who took excellent care of the new green oasis in this place on the opening day. Watering cans were used and all plants were properly watered. A large tomato bush also received water, brought as a gift by Michał Kołodziejczak - president of the Agrounia TAK Social Movement.
- I am proud of your social involvement and attachment to the land that surrounds you. This land is not just for concrete slabs. This land is supposed to give you joy, and it should itself give birth. I am happy to open this garden. This is a very important initiative for me. A garden was created here, which in the past could have been called the garden of victory. The victory in this case is that local communities get involved in this type of places for the good of the entire society - added Kołodziejczak.
Activities related to the creation of a community garden are carried out as part of the project: "Direction for the Future - Starachowice Local Development Program" co-financed under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism for 2014-2021 (85%) and the State Budget (15%) from the Local Development Program, for which The Starachowice commune obtained nearly PLN 16 million in funding.
The main goal of the project is to improve the quality of life of residents through the implementation of comprehensive social, educational, environmental, economic and institutional programs and projects.
