Association 'Common Earth' (in Polish: Stowarzyszenie Ekologiczno-Kulturalne 'Wspólna Ziemia') is a small environmental NGO, based in Poland, focusing on nature and climate protection, ecological education and sustainable energy use, energy saving. By 2017, we contributed to the successful mothballing of one of the major planned coal-firing power plant projects in Poland. Since 2010, we have been active also on anti-nuclear issues. In 2012 and 2013, we co-organized lecture tours of Chernobyl liquidators to Poland. Since 2014, the Association has been hosting the Civic Nuclear Monitor project which involves watching nuclear power policies and risks in the region as well as the planned build and developments in Poland.
'Common Earth' is a member organization of: the Chernobyl Network (since 2012), Nuclear Transparency Watch (2017), the Polish 'Climate Coalition' (April 2018).
Selected objectives derived from our statutes (Chapter II, point 4.):
@ pro-environmental education of the large public (sub-point 1.);
@ nature protection (sub-point 2.);
@ animal-welfare protection (sub-point 3.);
@ pro-agriculture activities (sub-point 4.);
@ pro-cultural and art activities and cultural education (sub-point 5.);
@ promotion and building of citizen-driven society’ (sub-point 6.);
@ support of old people, of young people, as well as volunteers (sub-point 7.);
@ empowering of local communities (sub-point 9.);
@ activities to support the NGOs’ sector (sub-point 11.);
@ activities for popularizing and protection of human rights and of human and citizens’ liberties as well as supporting democracy (sub-point 13.);
@ activities for European integration as well as for cooperation and networking among societies and communities (sub-point 15.).
In general (types of our activities), we:
@ organize meetings, lectures, exhibitions, music concerts and other events;
@ run an education-cultural-social centre;
@ cooperate with other various education, cultural centres as well as with local administration outlets;
@ do topical researches and watch activities of public institutions in Poland related to energy policies, environmental protection and sustainability and to other fields of our interest.
Examples of our activities include:
# a whole list of topical public open meetings, music concerts cultural festivals and other types of events;
# contributing, along with a whole coalition of ENGOs, activists, groups and experts, to the successul stopping, after a long-standing battle, of one of the major planned coal-firing power plant projects in Northern Poland, ‘Elektrownia Północ’, official decision of which was just confirmed in June 2019 by the Highest Administrative Court;
# co-organization of lecture tours of Chernobyl liquidators to Poland in 2012 and 2013.
Expertise of individual members (in nature protection, climate catastrophe prevention and mitigation, energy policies, nuclear policies), good networking links among Polish as well as EU-wide groups, dedication to the pro-nature and pro-environmental cause, and the grass-roots, citizen-driven values, almost 30-year-long experience in both grass-roots and NGO activities and beyond.
Currently: only private (individual) small donations, income from crowd-funding plus dedicated funding (yearly cycle) from Okotars (HEPF) for the nuclear power watchdog project (Civic Nuclear Monitor).