The general objective of the project was to strengthen civic engagement in Ukrainian communities to integrate the legal dimensions of environmental recovery in Ukraine and for HE practice. Additionally, two specific objectives were set. The first was to stimulate innovative educational practice and upskill staff and students in Ukraine and at other European HEIs. These efforts were primarily achieved through the activities in WP2 which brought to the fore war-related environmental issues in the Ukrainian context from a legal, CS and natural science perspective as well as from international, national and local perspectives. The second specific objective was to enable European HEIs to actively support environmental recovery in Ukraine by connecting CS, law, and environmental studies to diagnose environmental harm in war. This was achieved through capacity-building exercises, collaborative training formats, and strengthened cooperation between universities and students in WP3 and WP4. Achievements include the moot court and summer school, the hackathon, and the follow-up student-driven CS projects cemented the real life applications concerning CEM in Ukraine.
The GROMADA project was launched to advance knowledge in environmental peacebuilding and to adress the severe environmental harm caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war highlighted the urgent need to strengthen Ukraine’s capacity for environmental recovery, build societal resilience, and engage and support local communities by using citizen science (CS) and civic environmental monitoring (CEM). Several primary needs were successfully addressed during the project. These included a significant knowledge gap on sustaining resilient models of using CS in armed conflict, the need to empower Ukrainian communities and clarify how CS can be applied to ensure legal accountability for environmental harm. A set of secondary needs were also addressed during the project, including strengthening knowledge exchange between European universities, increasing awareness among students, staff and future legal professionals about environmental harms during conflict and to promote a holistic approach that integrates civic engagement, law and environmental studies. The project utilised innovative higher-education (HE) approaches to enhance public and legal capacity in Ukraine.