After the successful completion of educational programs within the LIFE Artina project, it’s time to introduce these educational programs to interested public institutions.
Hands-On Training at Telašćica Nature Park
The implementation of this hands-on training took place at the facilities of Telašćica Nature Park and their newly opened Interpretation and Information Center Grpašćak. In addition to the staff of Telašćica Nature Park Public Institution, employees from the Public Institution National Park Brijuni also participated in the training.
Although they are marine public institutions, the seabirds they encounter in their work are diverse. What is common to all is the threats that affect all species, including:
- marine litter,
- rat predation on eggs,
- competition among seabirds and other bird species,
- light pollution,
- bycatch in fishing gear,
- habitat loss.
Through the educational programs of LIFE Artina, we have introduced children of preschool age, as well as lower and upper grades of elementary school, to these threats. The programs, tailored to different age groups, have, in a simple and entertaining way, familiarized children with the issues that marine birds regularly face. Although the programs were designed for three targeted species: Audouin’s gull , Scopoli’s shearwater and Yelkouan shearwater, with slight modifications, the programs are applicable to other endangered bird species as well.
The aim of conducting this training was to present educational programs developed through the LIFE Artina project to educators outside the project area, in order to familiarize a larger number of educators and young people with threats to birds and their habitats. Additionally, the goal was to ensure the continued use of the educational programs. To present the programs to educators from public institutions in the most effective way, besides the hands-on training, a workshop with preschool children was organized at the Orkulice Kindergarten in Sali.
Presentation of the home composter
As part of this visit to the Telašćica Nature Park, we also presented the home composter GG-02 from the INTERZERO company to all interested parties. The home composter is a device designed for indoor use, with the aim of reducing the proportion of organic waste in the total amount of mixed municipal waste. In addition to households, the composter is very suitable for institutions whose mixed municipal waste consists of a larger amount of food waste, such as schools and kindergartens. As part of the Life Artina project in 2022, three Oklin GG-02 composting devices were purchased. They perform continuous mechanical composting using temperature and bacteria.