The first phases of the project "Adáma" - sustainability in the hands of the community", involving research on the environmental issues of Eleusis, experiential discussions and sociodrama sessions with the community, have been completed and we are already on track for the third and final phase of the project, the drafting of a collective strategic proposal.

In the previous phases we worked with local citizen associations such as Ecoeleusis, Cycling Elefsina and the Association of Labour Houses of Mandra "New Switzerland" and applied participatory practices such as experiential walks and sociodrama to "co-identify" local environmental challenges and "co-imagine" the future of a sustainable and more inclusive city.

The experiential actions aim to co-sense the way in which these environmental challenges define and affect the daily lives of residents and to deepen the way in which social groups react - as a whole - to the environmental challenges faced by the residents of Eleusis and the wider region.

The aim of Adáma is to mobilize the local community of Eleusis to actively engage citizens in the public sphere, targeting today's environmental challenges.

From the research conducted by MENTOR in the past months, the following results emerged:

Of the total respondents, 87.3% are informed about local environmental issues, with the main sources of information being social media (93%), family/friends (55%) and local environmental organizations (50%). Other sources of information include the press (33%), scientific publications (30%), government agencies (25%), television (20%), seminars, workshops and documentaries (14%).

86% of respondents consider citizen participation in addressing local environmental issues to be important to very important, reflecting the need for diversification in decision-making processes and the belief that the future of planning as a process lies in more participatory and democratic processes.

Regarding the most important environmental problems of Eleusis and the wider area, the results of the survey showed that the main issues are sea and water pollution by 87% due to industrial activity and the sewage system, pollution from industrial activity by 84%, and air pollution / exhaust gases / odour by 84% also due to industrial activity but also due to the high volume of vehicles in the area. Other environmental issues with relatively high percentages were human indifference at 60%, lack of greenery/forest destruction at 53%, coastal pollution and waste management at 50% each.

The impacts of climate change in Eleusis ranked as very significant, are the deterioration/destruction of monuments, temperature rise, and the reduction of drinking water supplies.

Classified as very important are local climate change, landscape alteration/degradation, and increase in severe weather events.

82% of the survey participants consider that there should be planning to address the impacts of climate change and organised adaptation to the new climate conditions

Focusing on the 3 main environmental challenges, the question 'to what extent do you consider that the urban and natural environment of the city is shaped by each environmental problem? got the following answers:

• For marine pollution, 82% of the respondents consider that it is shaped a lot by it, while 15% answered 'quite a lot',
• For air pollution, 87% consider that air pollution is very much shaping the urban and natural environment of the city, and 11% consider that it is shaping the urban and natural environment of the city a lot, and 11% consider that it is shaping the urban and natural environment of the city a lot.
• For industrial activity, 92% believe that it shapes it a great deal, while 6% answered "quite a lot"

Regarding environmental protection measures and controls for the implementation and compliance with the legal framework, priority decisions should be taken:

• by the government 74%
• by the government 73%
• 70% by the Region
• by the EU 62%

Also, 42% of the participants consider that citizens' groups should be involved.

89% of respondents' human health is directly linked to the external environment and the quality of the

Finally, the participants consider as the strongest points of Eleusis its ancient history and the Archaeological site by extension, its proximity to the sea, its working history, its multiculturalism and the election of Eleusis as European Capital of Culture.