A group of teenage girls, with the support of the GironaEst Foundation, have spearheaded a participatory project to clean streets and encourage outdoor exercise in several areas of Girona Est, including Font de la Pólvora, Vila-roja, Grup Sant Daniel, Mas Ramada, and la Creueta. The two main events, held between April and May, resulted in the collection of approximately 650 kilograms of trash, in addition to other parallel neighborhood initiatives. This project is part of the Barça Activa't program by the FC Barcelona Foundation, in which the GironaEst Foundation has participated since 2024.
The participants organized and led a Plogging Race, a sports activity that combines walking or running with collecting waste along the route. The initiative received support from the municipal cleaning company, Girona+Neta, to establish designated waste disposal points. This effort has inspired many residents to continue with small daily actions to keep the neighborhood clean, which has historically faced issues of litter and degradation.
The first cleanup day, on April 19th, gathered about twenty people. With assistance from the Brigada del Salabret, a volunteer group promoting cleanup in Girona, over 350 kilograms of garbage were collected in two hours. The cleaning focused around the sector's schools: Vila-roja, Infantil de Font, the Cavall Fort nursery school, and Sagrada Família.
Following the success of the first plogging event, a month later on May 20th, neighbors and employees from Marlex, a member of the Girona Est Foundation, joined forces. A team of approximately thirty people cleaned the stream areas from Mas Ramada through Grup Sant Daniel to Font de la Pólvora, collecting 300 kilograms of trash in just over an hour.
The young initiators, Aitana, Ainhoa, Anaís, Indira, Inas, Roa, Thalia, and Daniela, emphasize the importance of maintaining clean neighborhoods and express satisfaction with the joint project, despite initial reservations. They appeal for collective responsibility, stating that "it doesn't take much effort to keep it clean."
Concurrently, various neighborhood groups in Girona Est have launched similar initiatives to address the persistent waste problem. Nassi El Boughlamy, representative of the Grup Sant Daniel Neighborhood Association, notes that a group of residents actively collects trash daily, with tools provided by the association. Jose Fernandez, president of the Font de la Pólvora Neighborhood Association, commends the young people's activity and the resulting family involvement, but calls for greater collaboration from the City Council in cleaning and maintaining the area, asserting that "Girona Est is also Girona."
