From 4 to 7 November 2025, we hosted partners of the VolonTERRA project from the Regional Center for Sustainable Development – RUZ Hollen. As you may recall, the partners visited us last year as well, which you could read about here.
Now, at the end of the project, it was time to visit the schools participating in VolonTERRA and observe their progress, as well as to visit some locations important for the activities of Sunce that we could not include in the schedule last time.
As a reminder, through the VolonTERRA project we aimed to empower primary schools in Split and the surrounding area to establish volunteer clubs focused on sustainability. We used this visit to show our partners the state of volunteering in our schools and the many opportunities for education on sustainable development offered by our community and nature.
During the four days, from Tuesday 4 to Friday 7 November, the partners had the opportunity to experience our everyday work – from visiting primary schools and their gardens, to touring Pantan and Trogir, opening an outdoor classroom, and visiting Marjan, the lookout point and the Botanical Garden. Of course, a drink at Žbirac and a quick dip in the sea were also essential parts of the experience.
Day one – Filipa Lukasa primary school, Kaštel Stari
The first working day of the study visit, 5 November, was hosted by Filipa Lukasa Primary School in Kaštel Stari. Teachers Tihana Bilić-Drašković, geography teacher, and Ksenija Žarković, English teacher, who participated in the project’s teacher training modules, prepared a special experience for us – olive picking in the school garden.
After a walk through the garden and a presentation of the school and its active projects, the partners were greeted by the principal, Nives Vilić, and the head of the school cooperative Maslinik, Ana Bralić, who, together with 6th and 7th-grade students, presented the cooperative’s products – balms, bath salts, soaps and candles. We also tasted their olive oil, and in addition to everyone receiving a bottle as a souvenir, some topped up extra supplies to take home to Germany.
We continued the day with a walk at Pantan – an ornithological and ichthyological reserve – and along the nearby beach where Sunce regularly conducts activities with children, such as Green Trips and cleanup actions. The day ended with a visit to Trogir.
Day two – Sunce and Brda primary school
On the second day, 6 November, we hosted the partners at the Sunce offices. There, Matea Špika, Senior Associate in the Nature Protection Department, and Tea Kuzmičić Rosandić, Head of the Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development Department, presented numerous activities Sunce carries out – educational, research and advocacy.
Projects related to the protection of Posidonia, diving sites and monitoring, as well as Plastic Free initiatives such as Plastic Free Cities and Plastic-Free Advent, were presented. Challenges in implementing measures to remove single-use plastics at events, in public institutions and educational establishments were also discussed.
We continued the day at Brda primary school with workshops and a final celebration marking the opening of the outdoor classroom and the celebration of Outdoor Classroom Day. The school, which has held the status of an International School since 2024, has for many years also operated through its student cooperative Mendula.
At the opening, we were welcomed by the principal, Katarina Zelić, and the teachers participating in the training modules: Vedrana Šilović, Zrinka Banić, Danijela Radić, Tina Ivelja, Ivana Babaja and Mladenka Buovac. You can read more about the celebration and the opening of the outdoor classroom here.
Day three – Marjan and the Botanical garden
The third day of the study visit was dedicated to nature. We met the partners in front of the Sunce office on the Riva, and our route took us across the First lookout, the Zoo, the top of Marjan (Telegrin), the lookout point, and finally the Botanical garden.
We enjoyed the view from the lookout – at least the part overlooking the Posidonia meadows that could still be seen, and a bit less the view of fallen trees. We walked along both the northern and southern sides of Marjan, enjoyed the iconic one-meter pizza at Grašo, had a drink at Žbirac, and at the end of the day, the bravest (Ollie!) even went for a swim.
The final visit of partners from RUZ Hollen was an opportunity to jointly reflect on the results of two years of work on the VolonTERRA project and to reaffirm how important cooperation between schools, the community and civil society organizations is for sustainable development. The project strengthened several primary schools in establishing and running volunteer clubs, raised awareness of sustainable practices and created meaningful connections that will continue to encourage future collaboratio
The visit ended with plenty of inspiration and new ideas for a future joint project that will, we hope, just like VolonTERRA, continue to connect people, schools and nature in the shared mission of creating a more sustainable future.
