Tarmo Tüür, leader of the Let’s Do It collective action day, said that the biggest success of the 15th Let’s Do It collective action day was definitely the fact that so many people decided to participate in spite of troubled times. “The annual springtime collective action day Let’s Do It is the largest scale voluntary citizen initiative in Estonia, and this year’s event allows me to say without any doubt that civic participation and caring have not vanished with the separation experienced over the years of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Tüür said. “Let’s Do It team extends gratitude and respect towards all the event foremen and participants in every corner of Estonia. In many places, Ukrainian war refugees also participated in the works, and accepting them into the communities and a shared sense of closeness is a good sign of the caring hearts of our people, the strength of the society, and the mutually built sense of security.”

A total of 1,198 collective action events were held under the Let’s Do It moniker, with 27,008 participants according to today’s data. The most events were held in Harjumaa and Tallinn, where 9,005 participated in 303 collective action events. Proportional to population size, Saaremaa had the largest number of participants – 2,261 of them partook in 129 events. In Ida-Virumaa, there were 2,847 participants in 96 events. In Pärnumaa, the numbers were 1,840 and 91, respectively, in Tartumaa 1,740 and 90, in Lääne-Virumaa 1,611 and 86, in Viljandimaa 1,295 and 63, in Raplamaa 899 and 59, in Järvamaa 1,267 and 51, in Jõgevamaa 802 and 51, in Läänemaa 750 and 49, in Võrumaa 1,002 and 46, in Valgamaa 1,093 and 44, in Põlvamaa 340 and 22, in Hiiumaa 181 and 15. Two collective action events were held outside Estonia – one in Canada and one in France, with 75 participants all together.

Statistical data: https://media.voog.com/0000/0048/2227/files/Talgupaev_07.05.2022.xlsx 

Let’s Do It event map: https://media.voog.com/0000/0048/2227/photos/talgukaart_07.05.2022_kl18.00.jpg

In cooperation with the Rescue Board, this spring the Let’s Do It team encouraged to pay attention to the safety of water bodies in home neighbourhoods. Last year’s collective works aimed at improving biodiversity also continued this year. In support of creating a species rich patch of meadow flowers, foremen of events that take place until 15 May can still apply for a package full of seeds of local flowers (more information on that at www.teemeara.ee). Most collective action events held were for maintenance works and village works, apartment association works, also garbage clean-up events. In many places, people engaged in brainstorming when the planned works were finished. This year we also witnessed participation by our new compatriots who have reached Estonia while fleeing from the war in Ukraine – various events were actually initiated by the Ukrainians themselves.

Event photographs and videos can be shared on social media with the hashtag #teemeära2022 and @talgupaev, or you can send the link to the photos via e-mail to info@teemeara.ee (please add the name and location of the event). Videos from the collective action day can be uploaded to YouTube (keyword “Teeme Ära 2022”). Feedback from event foremen is welcome at www.teemeara.ee/korralda-ja-osale/talgujuhile/tagasiside. Impressions from event sites can be glimpsed at www.teemeara.ee/otse.

All-Estonian collective action Let’s Do It day arose from the big clean-up day of 2008 and the subsequent collective brainstorming of 2009. Since 2010, it has been an opportunity for every active citizen, neighbourhood, and community to do something for their own living environment. This was the 15th time that the annual springtime collective action day Let’s Do It was held in Estonia, and the collective action spring culminated on the first Saturday of May. The organisers of the 7 May collective action day were The Estonian Fund for Nature and Kodukant, the Estonian Village Movement, plus its surrounding network. National Foundation of Civil Society, Rescue Board, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Dentsu X, Bauhof, LHV Youth Bank, Nordic Hotel Forum, Tele2, and others participated as supporters and partners.