• The budget of the campaign has been significantly increased to 9 million leva due to the extremely large number of project proposals

In this year's competition for the most original and environmentally informative project on the theme "I love nature and I participate" within the framework of the traditional National Campaign "Clean Environment", a total of 799 project proposals have been approved for funding. Of these, 414 are by municipalities and mayoralties, 203 - by kindergartens, and 182 - by schools and centers for supporting personal development throughout the country.

The campaign of the Ministry of Environment and Water "Clean Environment", which has been successfully implemented for over 20 years, has wide public popularity and has been established as an effective mechanism to activate and financially support municipalities, schools, and kindergartens to undertake activities such as cleaning, afforestation, landscaping, construction or restoration of playgrounds, inter-block spaces, etc.

This year, the number of project proposals was extremely high – a total of 2403 project applications were received, of which 1158 came from municipalities and mayoralties, 604 - from kindergartens, and 641 - from schools and centers for supporting personal development. This shows the real need for support for initiatives for improving the living environment and environmental education.

In order to meet real public expectations, this year the Management Board of the Environmental Management Enterprise for Protection Activities (EMEPA) set a significantly increased budget of 9 million leva for the campaign. The funds for the implementation of the approved projects are provided by the Ministry of Environment and Water through the EMEPA. Projects by municipalities and mayoralties are funded with up to 15000 BGN, and those by schools and kindergartens – with up to 7500 BGN.

This year, projects by municipalities and mayoralities are dominated by ideas for the improvement of recreational and leisure areas, the installation of outdoor sports facilities, the repair of existing fountains, the installation of solar-power external lighting, etc. With the implementation of these activities, the ecological environment is visibly improved, as well as the living conditions of the local population.

The projects by educational institutions include the construction of thematic reading corners (green libraries), outdoor laboratories, the organization of exhibitions and competitions, the purchase of composters for biodegradable waste, the design of mini ecosystems - natural corners, which allow the creation of a biosystem between functioning living organisms and the components of inanimate nature and enable children and students to observe and track processes. In the project proposals, a trend is observed for the use of recycled materials for the construction of park furniture and experimental fields. The projects are aimed at educating and teaching children and young people to care for the environment, which is one of the main requirements for participation in the competition.

The deadline for project implementation is December 31, 2025.

The full list of approved projects is published on the website of the Environmental Protection Agency: http://pudoos.bg/