8 April 2021 - A contest announced within CARPATHIAN FOREST SCHOOLs project

Regional Tourist Association (TAIF) announces a contest of youth initiatives to raise environmental awareness for communities inhabitants. To participate in the competition are invited: youth, initiative groups, public activists, preschool, secondary and higher education institutions. The advantage will be given to organizations, institutions and initiative groups from communities covering settlements with the mountain status of Kosivsky, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kalusky, Kolomyysky, Nadvirnyansky and Verkhovyna districts of Ivano-Frankivsk region.

The contest is answer to the results of basic sociological research on informal environmental education and the competence of the population in the field of environmental conservation that took place in August-December, 2020 as part of the project ′′Carpathian Forest Schools - a pilot cooperation for nature protection and environmental education′′ among the inhabitants of mountain settlements of Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine and Maramuresh County of Romania. The results of the study showed that most Ukrainian respondents do not consider biodiversity valuable or are not familiar with the term at all. They also mostly do not perceive local nature as a conducive environment for environmental education and education of the younger generation. The re-study will be conducted after the implementation of selected initiatives in August-September, 2021.

To participate in the contest, please fill out the form at: https://forms.gle/aVGNYTf8ngM7DcSi7. The maximum amount of expenses for one initiative is 15 000 UAH. Within the contest up to 10 initiatives can be supported (no more than one initiative in one community). The deadline for submission of applications is May 7, 2021.

The Carpathian Forest Schools project aims to support forest preservation in the Carpathian Transcordon region through the modernization of informal environmental education, namely forest schools activities and raising awareness of local communities on the value of forest biodiversity conservation and protection of unique mountain ecosystems of the Carpathians. The project started a Forest School in Maramureski National Mountain Park (Romania) and expanded the opportunities for the activities of the Forest School of the Vygodskiy Narrow (Ukraine) Heritage Center. These schools will be the hubs of out-of-school environmental education in regions that unconventional, modern, and interesting interpret local nature, environmental culture and sustainable forestry for schoolchildren, encouraging them to understand and treat the environment responsibly. Also, innovative infrastructure and tools for teaching children and youth who will soon make responsible environmental related decisions, so need to understand how it works. An innovative open educational space is being created in the Vygodsk community to explore wildlife near the hydrological landmark of the Shirkovets swamp, equipped with pedestrian beds, observation towers, interpretation panels. An environmental class will soon be equipped in the Vygodskaya narrow-gauge heritage center, and an interactive pavilion-reproduction of elements of the forest ecosystem will be built near the Center. Read more about the project here.