Across Europe, young people are increasingly concerned about the growing environmental crisis, and in our partner countries these challenges took specific, visible, and deeply personal forms. In Türkiye, communities, especially in urban and coastal areas, experienced visible air and water pollution alongside persistent problems with waste disposal that affect daily life. In Romania, young people in industrial regions lived with the consequences of soil and water contamination, while in rural areas poor waste management and the open burning of plastics remained troublingly common practices. In Hungary, youth from disadvantaged backgrounds frequently lacked both the resources and the opportunities to participate in organised environmental initiatives, even as they experienced the growing effects of climate change through more frequent droughts and increasingly extreme weather events. In Germany, urban youth faced challenges linked to high energy consumption and waste generation, while rural communities witnessed biodiversity loss and shifting agricultural patterns driven by changing climate conditions. In Spain, young people increasingly felt the gap between their genuine environmental concerns and the lack of accessible, practical tools to act on them. Many of these young people, especially those from low-income or migrant backgrounds, were eager to make a difference but felt powerless and isolated in the face of challenges that seemed too large to tackle alone. These realities led to frustration and a growing sense of helplessness. The 2023 UNEP Youth Survey confirmed this picture: 70% of young people aged 16–25 reported feeling anxious about climate change, and more than 55% said it actively affected their daily decisions. Before designing the project, partner organisations conducted online focus groups with youth across all five countries to ensure that EcoRise would be grounded in real, expressed needs rather than assumptions. Participants were consistent and clear in what they asked for: practical environmental skills that go beyond theory and show young people exactly how they can contribute to sustainability in their daily lives; opportunities for leadership and advocacy so they can influence local decision-making and policies; and a safe, inclusive space for cross-cultural exchange where they can share solutions, find motivation in collective action, and see that they are not alone in facing these challenges. EcoRise was designed as a direct and structured response to these needs, fully aligned with European Youth Goal #10 — Sustainable Green Europe — and Erasmus+ priorities on sustainability, inclusion, and participation in democratic life. The project pursued the following key objectives: deepening participants' understanding of ecological systems, biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable resource management through workshops, expert-led sessions, and field activities; ensuring that at least 80% of participants adopted a minimum of three sustainable habits in their daily lives, including waste reduction, water conservation, and responsible consumption; training at least 70% of participants in advocacy skills to enable them to launch local environmental campaigns and engage with sustainability policies, supported by the creation of a Youth Green Ambassadors Network; reducing climate-related anxiety in at least 75% of participants through peer support, collaborative creativity, and the empowerment that comes from visible, collective action; developing and sharing educational resources with a wider audience through digital platforms; facilitating meaningful dialogue between youth and local stakeholders to produce actionable sustainability recommendations; and fostering deep cross-cultural collaboration that would continue beyond the lifetime of the project. Overall, EcoRise's broader ambition was to turn concern into capability and anxiety into action, nurturing a motivated network of young sustainability leaders equipped to drive change in their own communities and inspire others across Europe toward a greener, more resilient future.