Our first in-person training event in Europe

In August, Trash Hero held its first ever Family Meeting in Europe, in Svaty Jan Pod Skalou – a beautiful little village just outside of Prague, Czech Republic. It was attended by 26 participants from 11 chapters in 5 different countries – Switzerland, Serbia, Kuwait, Czech Republic and Poland! 

The weekend was kindly hosted by the Trash Hero Czech Republic team who did an amazing job of finding a unique location and organising activities that helped the participants bond whilst connecting with nature. 

Family Meetings are volunteer training and team-building events that are held in our major countries of operation. At the meetings, we celebrate chapters’ achievements and share knowledge on a range of topics that benefit Trash Hero chapters and their wider communities. This includes zero waste training, brand audit training and much more.

We also had space for informal discussions and fun activities such as cooking together and volunteering at a local nature reserve. These resulted in some lively discussions, lots of laughter and some great memories being made. 

Over the course of the three days in the Czech Republic, we had presentations and activities that centred on motivation, leadership skills, the big picture of waste and community outreach.. 

As the first event of its kind in Europe, for many of our volunteers, it was the first time meeting other Trash Heroes in person! This provided a fantastic opportunity for these Trash Hero volunteers to build friendships and support systems – something that is vital in the work that we do.  It’s particularly important for those volunteers in countries with fewer Trash Hero chapters to remember they are not alone in what they do. 

I personally found my motivation again after the Trash Hero family meeting and [am] looking forward to the next time. I was really demotivated and now, we start again with new power

Sibil, Trash Hero Winterthur

We continue to support all our Trash Hero chapter leaders with regular global calls and workshops – although nothing quite matches the energy of in-person meetings and we can’t wait for the next one next year!