Climate Pact Ambassador, co-founder of ‘Ideas Garden’ (Idėjų Lysvė) and grassroots organiser, Laura Petruškė is an architect working on residential, educational development and public projects. In her free time, she is also involved in sustainability, citizen engagement and other similar projects.
With a strong history of developing citizen engagement projects and environmental initiatives, Laura was an obvious candidate to become a Climate Pact Ambassador. She enjoys being surrounded by like-minded people who have similar ideas and develop similar actions.
What is Ideas Garden?
Laura co-founded the civic initiative Idėjų Lysvė (Ideas Garden) in 2019, a community garden she designed to create a space to empower people in the neighbourhood. The initiative started with two initiators and six raised garden beds. (During the first building workshop, we had around 10 volunteers actively helping to build them).
It took about three years for the project to gain enough traction and evolve into a space that Laura believed would succeed. Her goal is to enable the citizens to manage the gardens in a way that gives them the self-organisation needed to maintain the garden without her. “In a way, it was not our main goal to cultivate the land, but to provide a place for people to experiment,” she said.
The garden is popular among families for educational activities while also appealing to older crowds. It’s a way for people to escape from work, relax and get inspired.
Vilnius as European Green Capital 2025
Being the European Green Capital is an opportunity for Vilnius to boost awareness and collaborate with other green initiatives. Laura finds this recognition motivating and hopes the actions and events that led to the city's award continue well into the future.
There are numerous green initiatives related to the circular economy, but community planting events are what truly set the city apart as a long-term green and sustainable destination. Vilnius will also continue to host events that contribute to the city’s greener future, one of which is a ‘Very Nice Neighbours Day’ to be organised across most neighbourhoods.
Citizen engagement in sustainability
Laura believes that citizen engagement is a key component to a healthy city. Young people and communities are the pulse of Vilnius. These are the main people shaping the community. With their fresh ideas and creative potential, Laura has an optimistic outlook on the future of Vilnius and the world in general.
Professional insights
Laura’s full-time job doesn’t mean she neglects her passion projects. She believes in taking action rather than just talking. This proactive mindset, along with her curiosity for the built environment and upcycled design, led her to initiate these green initiatives herself. “If you stay motivated, you find time for everything,” she says.
One of the initiatives Laura led aims to upcycle plastic bag waste, specifically low and high-density polyethylene. Replastico2 is the name of the project, which began with the aim of upcycling plastic bags into material for business cards. She simply melted plastic bags with an iron and discovered that the material is actually of nice quality. That same day, she bought a sewing machine and began experimenting. She was hooked on the results and continued to experiment.
What she was doing wasn’t a new concept. She discovered that other people had tried doing something very similar, but she noticed that they were just completing one project, not aiming to develop it further. Laura then developed better quality control for the melting process and, before she knew it, the project was travelling with her to the UK, Barcelona and now back in Lithuania.
"It’s very nice to educate people and share the experience on this plastic bag upcycling,” says Laura. “I think it’s truly inspiring.”
The hands-on aspect of the project is a very engaging activity. She has people from 3 to 101 years old in her workshop. “There are really no borders for age,” Laura said.
In the future, if Laura has more free time, she would like to further explore the artistic aspects of using plastic.
Laura’s daily inspiration to keep doing good work
Laura returned to Lithuania 10 years ago because she thinks Vilnius is a great place to live. Particularly, she was attracted to the creative people and, in general, very proud of how much the country has achieved in just 35 years of independence. For example, Lithuania’s climate neutrality goal for 2050 is ambitious for such a young nation, but its citizens have helped make significant strides toward achieving it.
“What is motivating for me is to see the result, to see the change, no matter if it’s big or small,” she said.
Motivation also comes from receiving positive feedback and appreciation for the work she’s doing, even in small moments when someone compliments the community garden as they walk by. Moments like that make Laura feel good and appreciated, motivating her to do more, which she believes will create lasting change in Lithuania.
Citizen Diaries - Vilnius
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Architect and Climate Pact Ambassador Laura Petruškė blends design with activism and co-founded the Ideas Garden in Vilnius to spark citizen-led sustainability.
Related links
Discover how you, as citizen, can make a change for your community, city, country and even for the planet through simple actions.
The Lithuanian capital was elected as European Green Capital 2025 for its strong commitment to sustainability while having a realistic and down to earth approach.
As the European Green Capital 2025, Vilnius has launched a series of sustainability projects, from student challenges to eco-conscious art installations and tree planting, setting an example in green governance and community-driven environmental action.