Training course "Youth for Rivers" took part in Armenia on 6-12 October. The project was organised by Balta Daba (Latvia) and Khazer (Armenia) and was focused on the exciting topic of river restoration. 20 participants from different European organisations gathered together to learn more about the basics of river pollution and river restoration and share some examples of river situations in their home countries.

The participants found out that the river restoration can be done in different ways and always has several consequences on the environment which is why it is important to think of all pros and cons before organizing a river restoration project. Examples from various European countries showed us the general river conditions in Europe and gave us some inspiring stories of young people working for the better conditions of their home rivers.

The training course was not only about theory. We also had two major field trips: first to the national park to see the example of successfully restored part of the river Akhuryan that was almost dried up by the nearby artificial channel. The second trip was to lake Sevan, the biggest and the most beautiful lake in Armenia. There the expert told us how during the Soviet times the authorities were planning to dry the lake and use the territory for agricultural purposes. Luckily, they never finished this project, although they managed the lower the level of water by 20 meters. They realized how damaging this draining was to the lake and decided to bring the water back. Today the local scientists are trying to raise the water level up by 6 meters.

The training course was not only focused on the topic of river restoration. There were sessions about how to work with volunteers, how to be a leader in an environmental NGO. The participants also took part in an interactive session where in smaller groups they created environmental games. Last day of the training course was dedicated to the future project planning and evaluation of the project. We hope that all future project ideas will be realized and developed by our participants.

The project has been funded with the support of the Youth in Action programme.