A new academic year is beginning across Europe – and with it comes another opportunity for the ERUA community to take action together.
This autumn, ERUA Cleanup Days are back, bringing students, staff and local communities together to care for the places we share. Between September and October, ERUA universities will organise local initiatives in and around their campuses, contributing to a common effort across the Alliance.
The autumn edition takes place between World Cleanup Day and World Food Day, connecting local action with a broader commitment to environmental responsibility and more sustainable university communities.
One Alliance, many local actions
Each ERUA university is shaping its Cleanup Day according to its own local context. From urban areas and university campuses to the banks of the Vistula River and the island of Ziegenwerder, this autumn’s activities combine environmental action, volunteering and community engagement.
Here is what is happening across ERUA:
September 21 – European University Viadrina, Germany
Viadrina will open its autumn activities with an online presentation of ViaPfand, a student project promoting reusable deposit systems and helping reduce single-use waste on campus.
September 26 – University of Macerata, Italy
Students, staff and community members will take part in an urban cleanup in Macerata’s city centre. The activity will be followed by an informative event hosted at the MuBi Museum, combining hands-on environmental action with an opportunity to learn and exchange ideas.
October 1 – Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania
At the MRU Campus, volunteers will join the Didlaukis academic community for an environmental cleanup activity, working together to care for the university’s shared spaces.
October 9 – SWPS University, Poland
In Warsaw, volunteers will head to the banks of the Vistula River, starting from the green areas beneath the Świętokrzyski Bridge. Co-organised with the City of Warsaw’s green municipality department, the activity will focus on cleaning the wild riverbank and its surrounding green spaces.
October 10 – Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
At the Tafira Campus, ULPGC and Asociación Soy Mamut will organise a volunteering activity combining litter collection with landscape improvement and the planting of native trees. The initiative will contribute to restoring green areas, enhancing local biodiversity and creating a more sustainable university campus.
October 15 – New Bulgarian University, BulgariaNBU will host “Developing a Sustainable NBU: Slow Erasmus Mobility & Paperless University”, a workshop dedicated to sustainable university practices. The programme will include presentations and discussions on sustainable management, student initiatives, slow mobility and ways to reduce paper use across the university.
October 16 – European University Viadrina, Germany
Viadrina will conclude the autumn Cleanup Days with a community cleanup on Ziegenwerder Island, close to the university campus. The initiative will bring together the university community and several local partners, including IMD Labor Oderland, the German Red Cross, Stadtwerke Frankfurt (Oder), Studierendenwerk Ostbrandenburg and the local UNICEF student initiative.
More than a cleanup
Picking up litter is a simple action. But when it becomes something we do together, it can also be a way of looking differently at the spaces around us – and at our responsibility towards them.
The ERUA Cleanup Days invite university communities not only to make their surroundings cleaner, but also to meet, collaborate and strengthen connections with the places they live and study in.
Across six ERUA universities and several European cities, different local actions become part of the same shared effort: making our campuses and communities greener, more sustainable and more connected.
Find your local ERUA Cleanup Day and join the action this autumn!
