Summary

Orzechowo is a small town in the west of Poland which was considered by its inhabitants as not a socially active place. To reverse this trend of abandonment, a local association of pensioners decided to take action and revitalise the town by mobilising the locals.

In a bottom-up participatory way, inhabitants completed a questionnaire to identify the needs of their place and the changes they would like to see to their town. An extensive communication campaign helped to disseminate information and activate the locals. A workshop supported by an experienced facilitator helped them to develop their own action plan, which includes a list of concrete actions for helping the local people change their town on their own initiative.

Results

A development plan was created that runs until 2030 and outlines actions on tourism and recreation; economy and entrepreneurship; transport infrastructure, social activities and aesthetics.

One of the first activities of the plan organised was an old photo exhibition comprising more than 300 photographs from which an electronic database was created.

Participants planted trees and shrubs by the streets. In total 124 trees and shrubs were planted.