…The farther she moves away from the city and the closer she gets to her home, the more she is enveloped by a sense of calm and tranquillity. As she stops at the gate to enter her neighbourhood, all she hears is birdsong and the sounds of nature. She feels it clearly: this wooden house in the village, right by the forest, is exactly where she was meant to be. Here, she drinks coffee on the terrace and takes care of her plants. She also finally got a dog, just like the one she had in childhood.
For many years, Oksana Viytyk worked in the field of environmental protection, although she also had experience in other sectors. She is a geographer by education, at a time when environmental studies had not yet emerged as a separate discipline. She worked in private business, the Lviv City Council, and the regional administration.
Oksana is always open to new challenges. Among the initiatives she has helped implement are a mercury lamp recycling plant, an “eco-bus” collecting used batteries in Lviv, and an environmental education centre in Yavoriv National Nature Park, built as a passive house. All these projects became possible thanks to the Poland – Ukraine Programme. Today, she is working on the EcoReserve project in the Solonka community in partnership with Tomaszów Lubelski municipality, focused on building wastewater treatment facilities and improving water supply and sewage systems.
During this programme period, while serving as Director of the Department of Ecology at the Lviv Oblast State Administration, she acted as an ambassador of our Programme by encouraging local communities to prepare applications and apply for funding. As a result, nine communities, in partnership with Polish communes, received funding and are now implementing their projects. She later became involved in the management of the project in the very community where she now lives.
On a personal level, ecology for her is about daily interaction with the environment, conscious choices, and avoiding excess. Her small timber-frame house is equipped with solar panels, a solid-fuel boiler, an inverter and batteries for winter power outages. The household includes a compost pit with vermiculture, and waste is carefully sorted – leaving almost no residual waste. Moving to a wooden house by the forest surprised many of her acquaintances… The cat Rüdiger liked the new place, and soon another companion appeared – a rescue dog named Christopher. She has no regrets, although the work is far from easy. In addition to the project, as an environmental specialist in the community, she faces daily challenges: outdated or missing water supply and sewage infrastructure, illegal dumps, and sometimes irresponsible behaviour.
The Solonka community borders the city of Lviv. Its population is growing rapidly: villages once inhabited by locals and summer residents are turning into densely built-up areas with cottages and apartment buildings. As a result, the pressure on infrastructure is constantly increasing. The need for wastewater treatment facilities and sewage networks has existed for years, while securing funding has taken years. People who move here expect modern infrastructure, clean water, and access to sewage systems instead of cesspits.
Oksana fully understands the scale of the problem. Cesspits, especially in areas with high groundwater levels, need to be emptied very frequently, creating a significant financial burden. Moreover, wastewater that seeps into the ground can cause serious environmental consequences: a few years ago, one community near Lviv had well water declared unfit for drinking due to contamination. Septic tanks are a better solution, but still require investment and proper maintenance. As developing centralised sewage systems and modern water treatment solutions is a task facing most Ukrainian communities, the question is how quickly they can adapt.
At the same time, Polish partners share practical solutions and experience, as the project includes not only construction but also study visits and knowledge exchange. This helps partners prepare for future requirements and gain practical knowledge.
…Meanwhile, in the Solonka community, in Malechkovychi village, construction of rotary-type wastewater treatment facilities is underway. The technology involves mechanical and biological treatment of wastewater using microorganisms (activated sludge), which, when rotated and supplied with oxygen, break down pollutants. This system is less energy-intensive, and all processes take place in enclosed facilities—without open sludge lagoons – so residents need not worry about unpleasant odours. On the other side of the border, in Tomaszów Lubelski, partners are reconstructing the sewage system using trenchless methods on eight streets and upgrading the water supply network on five streets.
Additionally, an environmental awareness campaign was held in the schools of Solonka community, while an eco-picnic took place in Tomaszów Lubelski.
Big changes begin with small steps – with individual decisions, concrete projects, and responsibility for one’s own space. This is how, step by step, a new quality of life takes shape – where there is clean water, well-designed infrastructure, and a true sense of home.
