After five years of the LIFE Artina – “Seabird Conservation Network in the Adriatic” (LIFE17 NAT/HR/000594) the time has come to present the educational programs created through the project to interested public institutions.
Hands-on training in Nature Park Telašćica
Therefore, we selected to have this practical training at the Nature Park Telašćica in their recently inaugurated Interpretation Information Center Grpašćak. In addition to the employees of the Public Institution Of Nature Park Telašćica, employees of the Public Institution Brijuni National Park also participated in the training.
Although these are marine public institutions, the species of birds they encounter in their work are different. What is common to all are the threats that threaten all kinds, namely:
- marine litter,
- rats,
- competition of certain seabirds with other seabird species,
- light pollution,
- bycatch,
- reduction of suitable habitats for seabirds.
Through the educational programs of LIFE Artina, we introduced children of kindergarten age, as well as lower and upper grades of elementary school to these threats. Programs in a simple, fun and age-appropriate way introduced children to problems that seabirds regularly encounter. Although the programs were made for three target species: Audouin’s gull (Larus audouinii), Scopoli’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), Yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan), with small refinements, the programs are also applicable to other endangered bird species.
This hands-on training aimed to present educational programs created through the LIFE Artina project to educators outside the project area, to introduce a larger number of educators and young people to the threats to birds and their habitats and to continue to use the educational programs themselves. To effectively present the programs to educators in public institutions, we organized a workshop with kindergarten children at “Orkulice” kindergarten in Sali, complementing the hands-on training.
Presentation of a home composter
During this visit to Nature Park Telašćica, we introduced the household composter GG – 02 by INTERZERO to all those interested. This home composter is a device intended for use within the facility, intending to reduce the share of biowaste in the total amount of mixed municipal waste. In addition to households, the composter is also very suitable for institutions whose mixed municipal waste consists of a larger amount of food, such as schools and kindergartens.
Objectives of the LIFE Artina project
The overall objective of the LIFE Artina project is to create the preconditions for designating new marine protected areas within NATURA 2000 as special protection areas for birds in Croatia (SPAs). This involved declaring 5 new Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and extending 2 existing ones.This was achieved by identifying key areas of particular importance for birds in the south of Croatia, focusing primarily on the Audouin’s gull, Yelkouan and Scoploli’s shearwater.
With the project, we also assessed the main negative impacts on seabird populations on land and at sea and defined activities that mitigate them.
The hands-on training was organized by the Association for Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development “Sunce” through the LIFE Artina project. The project is co-financed by the LIFE Program of the European Union, the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, and the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund. More about the project can be found on the project website – LINK.