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Old Toys, New Smiles

Sometimes sustainability begins with something very small: a toy forgotten in a drawer, a child choosing something new, and a community deciding that what already exists can still bring joy.

There are few things more beautiful than the light in a child’s eyes when a wish comes true.

That was the feeling behind one of Park Istra’s early winter actions: a toy exchange organised before the end of 2014. The idea was simple. Many children had toys at home that they no longer used. Some were hidden in drawers, some forgotten in cupboards, some waiting quietly in corners after being loved for a while and then left behind.

Instead of letting those toys remain unused, Park Istra wanted to give them a new life.

The action was not large or complicated. It did not need to be. Each schoolchild brought at least three toys to school. During the exchange, each child could then choose three “new” toys to take home.

The toys were not new from a shop, but they were new to someone. And sometimes that is enough.

A different kind of gift

The toy exchange took place on 23 December 2014, just before the holidays.

At that time of year, children are often surrounded by the idea that joy comes from receiving something new. Shops are full, advertisements are loud, and families feel the pressure to buy more.

Park Istra’s toy exchange offered a gentler idea.

A gift does not always have to be newly produced. It does not always have to arrive in packaging. It does not always have to cost money. Sometimes a gift can be something that already exists, passed from one child to another with a new story attached to it.

For the child giving it away, the toy becomes part of generosity.

For the child receiving it, it becomes part of excitement.

For the community, it becomes a small lesson in sharing.

Forgotten toys, new owners

The original field note describes the toys almost as if they had been lonely.

They had been lying in drawers and hidden corners of wardrobes, waiting for someone to notice them again. That image is tender because it reminds us how easily objects lose meaning when they are no longer used.

A toy is made to be held, moved, imagined with, carried, named, broken a little, repaired, lost, found, and loved.

When it sits forgotten for too long, it loses its purpose.

The exchange gave those toys a second life. A car, a doll, a puzzle, a soft animal, a game or a small object that had become ordinary to one child could become exciting to another.

Nothing needed to be wasted. Nothing needed to be thrown away just because it was no longer new.

This is one of the quiet principles behind many Park Istra actions: look again at what is already there.

An old building can become a home. Old roof tiles can become a floor. Forgotten toys can become gifts. Local knowledge can become education. A neglected place can become useful again.

Sustainability often begins with this simple change of vision.

Joy without waste

The toy exchange brought together two things that are sometimes separated: care for people and care for the environment.

On one side, the action was about children. It created excitement, playfulness, generosity and smiles. It allowed children to experience giving and receiving in a way that was immediate and joyful.

On the other side, it was also an environmental action.

Reusing toys means reducing waste. It means extending the life of objects that have already been made. It means valuing materials, labour and resources instead of treating things as disposable.

But the beauty of this kind of action is that it does not feel heavy.

Nobody needs to explain sustainability through guilt. The lesson happens through experience. Children see that sharing can be fun. They see that something used can still be beautiful. They see that another child may enjoy what they no longer need.

In that way, the exchange becomes both practical and educational.

More than an event

After the exchange, there was still a bag of toys left.

Those remaining toys were donated to the kindergarten in Gračišče, where they could continue to be used by more children.

This small detail completes the circle.

The toys did not stop with one exchange. What remained was not waste, not excess, not a problem to store again. It became a gift to another place where children could play.

Park Istra’s work often follows this kind of logic. A simple action creates more than one benefit. It supports people, reduces waste, strengthens local relationships, and encourages a different way of thinking.

The toy exchange was not only about toys.

It was about showing that community can organise small systems of care. That children can participate in sustainability. That environmental action can be warm, social and playful. That generosity does not always require money.

A small lesson in abundance

Modern life often teaches us that abundance means having more.

More new things. More choices. More purchases. More objects entering our homes before the old ones have lost their value.

But the toy exchange suggested another kind of abundance.

The abundance of sharing. The abundance of enough. The abundance that appears when a community notices that what one person no longer needs may be exactly what someone else is happy to receive.

This is a gentle lesson, but an important one.

Sustainability can sometimes sound like restriction. Less consumption, less waste, less damage. All of that matters. But sustainability is also about creating more of something else: more connection, more creativity, more care, more gratitude, more imagination.

A child choosing a toy from a table may not think about environmental systems or circular economy.

But they can feel the joy of reuse.

And sometimes, that feeling is the beginning of understanding.

New life for old things

The original field note ended with a simple idea: the toys were given a new life, the environment was protected, and people made each other happy.

That sentence could describe much of Park Istra’s work.

Give new life to what has been neglected. Protect what is around us. Make life a little better for one another.

In this case, the work was small and joyful.

No walls were rebuilt. No path was cleared. No heavy tools were needed. But the action still carried the spirit of the project.

It showed that sustainability belongs in everyday life. In schools. In homes. In children’s hands. In small exchanges that make people smile.

A forgotten toy became a new treasure.

A simple exchange became a lesson in community.

And for a moment, sustainability looked exactly like what it should be: generous, practical, and full of life.