We were preparing to write a complex article about what high school students learned with us on Monday and Tuesday, but after reading the testimony of trainer Mihaela Mariș, we decided to leave the complex text for next week, when we will go to 22 classes in Târgu Jiu.
“Two beautiful autumn days, 130 curious young high school students and a bear we met by the side of the road.
Guided by the motto “No action is insignificant”, we went to the high schools in Vidra and Odobeşti with the aim of arousing the students’ interest in nature and their protected area. By the time we left, they had found solutions to the real problems that their protected area is facing, and they promised to reduce household water consumption. They have also acquired new life experience and knowledge that can give them a new direction in life, and the experience of virtual reality which, for a few minutes, transported them in the middle of nature and of all that it represents, and helped them to overcome their limits or phobias.
We all took a step forward, whether we talked about recycling, cutting down trees, reducing the negative impact on nature, or whether they worked in teams and had the roles of managing their protected area, using their creativity to find solutions to what could be a problem for communities in the area: large carnivores. The project “Activating Future Leaders for Nature Protection” brings nature into the spotlight, helping young people to become aware of and to discover what may have been unknown to them until now or just one way of spending their free time. Moreover, it offers them training opportunities, personal development, growing together with the ProPark Foundation for Protected Areas over a period of 3 years, in a responsible and active way.”
Thank you, Putna Vrancea Natural Park, for your support!