Green Camp is a camping site uniting climate and environment activists around the problem of Svydovets’ destruction between July 21 and July 27. Svydovets is a mountain group where 14 ha of forest is going to be cut down to build a skiing resort. Because of that, mount Drahobrat, the closest location to Svydovets group, has been selected for the camp.
The camp united 101 participants from over 35 NGOs. Activists arrived from 30 Ukrainian cities and 6 countries: Germany, Switzerland, Colombia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia. Thanks to this educational event, new people joined the “green” movement, constituting over 15% of the total number of participants.
During the Green Camp, the participants had an opportunity to study the connections between their movements and find common ground. The camp included representatives of organizations working with climate adaptation of cities, transition to 100% RES, eco-education, zero waste, environmental protection, and sustainable development. They learned about campaigning, planning of joint campaigns, and actions for the protection of Svydovets, participated in networking and talked about challenges in their work and emotional burnout.
An important part of the camp was the hike to the planned location of the resort and a protest action on site. The participants had an opportunity to see the place with their own eyes. The activists spelled out “Free Svydovets” with their bodies, lying down on one of Svydovets mountain peaks, as a symbol of unity of the Ukrainian environmental movement for preservation of Svydovets mountain group against big construction and privatization.
Artists and opinion leaders were also engaged: Oleksandr Polozhynskyi (Tartak vocalist) and Ivan Marunych (blogger and leader of Nravitsa Planet band) recorded the track “#FreeSvydovets” together with the participants, dedicated to the campaign.
Additionally, a working group (8 people) for the protection of Svydovets was formed, with a sync-up meeting held where it was decided to hold a crowdfunding campaign, organize an action and prepare suggestions for the Program of Ukrainian Carpathians Development for 2020–2022.
After Green Camp, the working group continues its activity and planning of future actions. At the camp, the idea also emerged to file the first climate lawsuit in Ukraine, which would have to do with construction in Svydovets and associated climate risks.
Green Camp was organized by Ecoltava NGO with the financial support of Heinrich Boell Foundation, Kyiv Office — Ukraine, and 350.org — Ukraine.
Photos by: Dmytro Pankov and Yuliia Pashkovska