Ioannis Theodoulou, Areti Lagiou, Athanasios-Foivos Papathanasiou, Constantina Skanavis, Desalegn Yayeh Ayal, Ulisses M. Azeiteiro, Henri-Count Evans, Inga Grinfelde, José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, Jasenka Gajdoš Kljusurić, João Carlos Correia Leitão, Chunlan Li, Newton R. Matandirotya, Bethwel Mutai, Gustavo J. Nagy, Thierry Razanakoto, Jame Schaefer, Goran Trbic, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga, Sane Pashane Zuka, Charles Galdies, Adriana Consorte-McCrea, Francisco Platas, Mittul Vahanvati, Pedi Obani, Safwatun Nida, Lucas Gabriel Zanon, Mayara Régia Sousa de Melo, Alison Glover, Roman Vakulchuk
Universities play a critical role in fostering environmental awareness and sustainability. The University of West Attica in Athens, Greece, implements a unique environmental education program known as the Skyros Project, which integrates experiential learning with artistic expression. One of its most distinctive activities is Trash Art, an artistic practice where students create mosaic artworks using waste materials. This initiative aims to encourage waste reduction, recycling, and a shift in environmental attitudes among participants. The study explores how Trash Art contributes to fostering environmental awareness by analyzing participants’ perceptions and experiences. Rather than assessing effectiveness through quantitative metrics, the study examines the role of Trash Art in shaping environmental attitudes through qualitative insights. By analyzing participants’ environmental perceptions before and after their involvement in the program, the study highlights how creative interventions can contribute to sustainability education. This study examines the effectiveness of Trash Art as an educational tool for raising awareness about climate change and sustainability. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the relationship between environmental art and behavior change. Additionally, the study evaluates shifts in environmental attitudes among participants of the Skyros Project, measuring their willingness to adopt sustainable behaviors. The materials used in Trash Art creations—such as glass, stones, bottle caps, and other discarded items—symbolize the transformation of waste into meaningful artistic statements, reinforcing the importance of circular economy principles. The findings indicate that engaging in Trash Art significantly enhances participants’ environmental consciousness and fosters a sense of responsibility toward sustainability. This research highlights the potential of art-based educational interventions in climate change communication, demonstrating that artistic engagement can be a powerful tool for behavioral change. The conclusions drawn from this study provide insights into how universities can integrate creative approaches to environmental education, fostering long-term ecological awareness and action among students. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Eswatini, Manzini, Kwaluseni Campus, Matsapha, South Africa; Institute of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Engineering, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava, Latvia; Center for Sustainable Development (Greens), Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil; School of Urban and Regional Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Centre, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Kgotso Development Trust, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; CERED, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Marquette University, Milwaukee, United States; University of Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Land Economy, University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Blantyre 3, Malawi; Institute of Earth Systems, University of Malta, Msida, Malta; Academy for Sustainable Futures, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Casa de Cultura de la UAEMéx en Tlalpan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico; School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom; Science Education Department of Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil; State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil; The Open University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo, Norway; Department of Public and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece; Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece; Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa Univesity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; The Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
