Workshop

October 12, 2021 |  – 12
Language: English
Topic: “Who are our partners in Green Social Work?”
Contributor: Josien Hofs

Green social work is an upcoming section of our profession.

It started with care-farms, and now we see in our cities more and more initiatives. From common gardening, make your street green, food banks with their own kitchen garden, to developments around other forms than fossil energy, transportation, etc.

Climate change will affect us all.

What should this mean for our day-to-day social work?

We know about being outdoors and enjoying nature is good for our physical and mental health. Even a tiny park and some trees in the neighbourhood already make a difference. As the shortage of housing is an issue in European countries, one should think about which kind of neighbourhood give citizens and their children the best chances.

Which responsibilities do we see for our profession?

And what about traffic and public transport?

Social workers should mingle in these discussions to promote the representation of often forgotten citizens in the project planning.

Climate change will lead to changes in the energy provision for our households. What should that mean for the social housing estates and other vast neighbourhoods in our cities?

We already experienced, i.e. in mental health care; there are excellent examples of how people benefit from green social work.

Not only as a healthy environment but also as a means to raise awareness.

But is common gardening and the promotion of healthy choices restricted to special groups?

Which role do we have to play in raising awareness about climate change?

Which other professions do we need to work alongside?

We will discuss issues and examples related to these bigger themes. We have to expand our networks to other professions than we used to, and explore new working methods.