WASAS beach volleyball hero

We Are Sand and Sea

From eco-anxiety to action

About the project

WASAS (We Are Sand And Sea) is a European collaboration project between Spain, Greece and Cyprus that addresses climate anxiety in young people aged 12 to 18 through physical activity in natural environments and ecopsychology.

The project combines sports sessions in the sea and on the beach —surfing, beach volleyball, paddle surfing, kayaking, catchball— with emotional management workshops and environmental action. Its goal is to transform climate concern into resilience, a sense of community and active commitment to the natural world.

WASAS prioritises the inclusion of young people with less access to sport: those with behavioural or academic difficulties, hearing impairment, problematic screen use, or who do not practise any physical activity on a regular basis.

partners

WASAS
Arona Voley
Anemos
University of La Laguna
Co-funded by the European Union

the project

Duration

The project runs for 12 months, during which sessions combining physical activity in natural environments with ecopsychology training and climate emotion management will take place. During the European Week of Sport, an open event with an environmental theme will be held in each participating country. At the end of the project, a closing event will be held in Spain with a public presentation of the audiovisual material created by the participants: a short film in which the young people are the protagonists.

Young WASAS participants gathered on the beach beside the project banner
WASAS project team at the first in-person meeting with the project logo projected behind them

Co-funding

WASAS is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ programme, under the Small-Scale Sport Partnerships action. This programme supports initiatives that promote social inclusion, well-being and civic participation through grassroots sport. WASAS directly addresses these priorities by targeting groups with fewer opportunities to access sporting activities and by integrating environmental sustainability as a cross-cutting theme throughout the project.

Meet our partners

Meet the European consortium delivering WASAS across Spain, Greece and Cyprus.

  • Arona Voley

    Spain · Coordinator

    Arona Voley logo

    Arona Voley is a women's volleyball club based in Arona, Tenerife. As project coordinator, it leads the planning of physical and sporting activities, and drafts the educational guide for climate emotion management and the storytelling manual. It brings to the project a psychological and mental well-being perspective.

  • Anemos

    Greece

    Anemos logo

    Anemos is a Greek organisation specialising in ecopsychology and interdisciplinary work at the intersection of sport science, psychology and the environment. Within WASAS, it leads the ecopsychology strand, connecting the creative dimension of the project with scientific knowledge. It brings to the consortium its expertise in designing innovative activities that integrate emotional well-being and environmental awareness.

  • Breezageri

    Cyprus

    Breezageri is a Cypriot organisation with expertise in audiovisual production and creative communication. In WASAS, it is responsible for turning the experiences of young participants into quality audiovisual content, including the project's final short film. It also takes responsibility for quality control and the preparation of the final project report.

  • University of La Laguna

    Spain

    University of La Laguna logo

    The University of La Laguna provides the academic and scientific rigour needed to ensure the project's validity. It oversees compliance with inclusion and accessibility criteria, and designs and evaluates the questionnaires on climate anxiety, ecopsychology, physical activity and participant satisfaction. Its involvement ensures that the project's results can be measured and transferred to other contexts.

CONNECTING beach sports ENTHUSIASTS WITH THE BEST locations AND beach sports community resources TO RIDE THE WAVES together.

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