News

Organisation: Generation Earth (WWF-Austria)

Website: www.generationearth.at

Dates: 3-6 July 2017

Place: Ybbstaler Alpen, Austria

Description of the activity:

We implemented this project as part of our Generation Earth Action Leader Training which we participated in from September 2016-June 2017. The theme of this year’s training focused on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs, and we were most interested in Goal # 15 - “Life on Land” and protecting biodiversity and some of the last wild places in Europe and Austria. 

The project could be split into three stages: preparation, implementation (the hike) and impact evaluation. The first stage was characterized by creating a solid planning team, planning the route, getting sufficient funding, finding connections and partners, finding the people who know the area and the situation there and, of course, finding the participants who would join us on the hike. It took months of planning, but we ultimately got to the second stage that was the hike itself.

The hike with 15 people ranging from 17 to 27 years old lasted for three days of which one was extremely demanding and took us on the edge of the existing wilderness area with a great view to the already protected forest and valley. On the first day, we were joined by a journalist from FM4, a very popular Austrian radio station particularly for young people. The reporter made a few interviews with participants and  the results will be aired on a show called “Reality Check” in September. Apart from raising awareness and having an impact on the negotiations about the Durrenstein area we also wanted to help 12 participants get a deeper connection with nature through hiking in such a pristine area. We advertised the project strongly throughout the WWF and Generation Earth channels to get as many participant applications as possible and to spread the message about our project. As the main goal of our project was to raise awareness, we kept making blog post updates and taking photos and videos (a short edit will soon be complete!) during the hike. We also had a live video stream from the mountain top on the WWF Austria Facebook page that reached almost 3000 people. The hike started in the Hochkar skiing area and continued into the wilder area where we stayed overnight in a small pasture hut. After two more days and all together almost 50 km of hiking we finished near Lunzer lake. Participants for sure had quite an experience and were all curious about the possible follow ups to this project and the options to join Generation Earth. The story was certainly not finished, especially for us from the planning group who had quite intense few days and busy months of planning before that. As we thought about our impact we remembered that the negotiations about expanding the area had restarted, the video that we streamed on the WWF Facebook was viewed by almost 3000 people, our story will be aired on one of the most popular radio stations in Austria, and the people on the hike got a unique experience that won't easily be forgotten. It was hard work for two volunteers to get everything the way it was but we really feel that we made a difference and it was worth it!

What was the environmental problem:

Our project was aimed to raise awareness about the need for wilderness areas and more specifically on the Durrenstein wilderness area. We basically wanted to have an impact on the negotiations that had stalled around the expansion. The area is a 3.500 ha big nature reserve and is the only IUCN category I reserve in Austria. The forest is, however, not big enough to be considered a self-sustaining ecosystem which requires about 10.000 ha.

There is a plan to enlarge Dürrenstein Wilderness area by another 6.500 ha by adding the old growth forest of Lassingbachtal which would make the area around 10.000 ha and therefore large enough to be declared a self-sustaining ecosystem. The negotiation process was unfortunately stopped by the Styrian Provincial Government in January 2017, which is why we wanted to support WWF get it started again.

The result of the activity:

While we cannot take full credit, as many organisations and people were involved, we are overjoyed that the negotiations were restarted about a week after our project concluded, and the sides are again talking about the expansion and how to do it. We hope that this will lead to a favourable outcome. Also, on July 10, the Lassingbachtal was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

For our role, we got in touch with various stakeholders by sending them our political factsheet with the description of why the area should be expanded. We also helped to promote the idea of wilderness by making a live video stream from the mountain top on the WWF Austria Facebook that was viewed by more than 2000 people who heard our message and also got to see some of the amazing views from the mountain top (without all the dangers associated with actually going there, lucky guys!). A few of our hiking group were interviewed which will be aired on FM4, one of the top radio stations in Austria, so everyone will hear about what we’re standing (and freezing) for. Our project was also highlighted in an Austrian magazine called “Wellness Magazin” and they helped us to spread our message in their article. And of course, the 15 people who joined us had a powerful life experience. It’s something that hopefully will shape their future decisions. Who knows, maybe one of them will be an important decision-maker one day and he or she will think about nature protection before making decisions.

Find out more:

Links to communication events:

https://www.facebook.com/WWFOesterreich/videos/10154506866837063/

https://www.facebook.com/WWFgenerationearth/videos/1402236063156822/

http://wwf.at/de/wwf-und-generation-earth-erweiterung-des-wildnisgebiets-duerrenstein-gefordert/

https://www.generationearth.at/en/walk4wilderness-a-wild-adventure

http://wellness-magazin.at/living/erweiterung-des-wildnisgebiets-duerrenstein-gefordert

Video:

Environmental challenge accepted - Public vote

Main page of the project

Organisation: Junior Ranger Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald e.V. 

Website: http://www.junior-ranger.com/junior-rangers/

Dates: all year

Place: different places in- and outside our protected area, international (e.g. Poland, Czech Republic, etc.)

Description of the activity:

At our information desks we have several different ways of sharing the information about the capercaillie with the visitors. We have maps, showing the habitat of the capercaillie, stuffed capercaillies to present their features, a phone and a speaker box to present the sounds the animals make. Additionally we use kinetic sand and a stamp that is fashioned after the footprint of a capercaillie to teach people how to recognise the footprints they find in the park.

What was the environmental problem:

The capercaillie is an endangered species (red list species) in our protected area. Unfortunately, not many people know about how sensitive they react to disturbance. Especially in winter, this lack of information can lead to numerous dead capercaillies. Through this information desks we try to raise awareness among cross-country skiers and hikers so they stay out of the animal’s habitat.

The result of the activity:

We succeeded in raising awareness and as a result of the many information desks that we have throughout the year less hikers and cross-country skiers leave the trails. This leads to considerably less disturbance for the animals.

Environmental challenge accepted - Public vote

Main page of the project

Organisation:

WWF Austria: www.wwf.at

Generation Earth: www.generationearth.at

Riverwalk: www.river-walk.eu; Facebook

Dates: 14 July – 6 August, 2017: 24 days

Place: 500 km of mobile action (hiking, canoeing, rafting, biking) along the Inn river from Maloja (CH) to Passau (D)

Description of the activity:

Riverwalk 2017 brought together 20 young people (15-30 years old) from Switzerland, Austria and Germany to hike, bike and raft 517km for 24 days all the way from the spring to the mouth of the Inn river and explore sustainable development opportunities along the longest river of the Alps. The project aimed at increasing awareness of the importance of free-flowing rivers, develop participants' leadership skills, expand a growing international network of young environmental leaders and form personal connections to unique and threatened river systems.

What was the environmental problem:

Riverwalk 2017 drew attention to the Inn river, often referred to as "the lifeline" of the Alps, which has been almost entirely straightened, dammed and thus degraded over the past decades. According to a study by WWF, only ca. 1% of the entire river is still in its original shape. While 24 hydropower plants had caused the decline of the river's bed load and biodiversity, several renaturation initiatives have been trying to preserve the flora and fauna in the wetlands.

Riverwalk 2017’s objectives were to develop participants’ personal connection to nature and rivers, explore topics of renewable energy, nature conservation, sustainability and eco-tourism, as well as develop competences such as leadership, team building, project management and active citizenship. At the same time, participants were invited to learn how to live and work together with youth from different backgrounds, resolve conflicts in a productive manner, and co-create a supportive, participatory, open-minded, communicative atmosphere and thus improve intercultural understanding.

The result of the activity:

We hope that many of this year´s Riverwalk participants will continue getting active for rivers. Our message occurred in several local and national newspapers and we hope that will not only have an impact on locals but also politicians and other stake holders that will hopefully manage to come up with a sustainable river management plan.

Please, have a look at the media coverage and different newspaper articles about the project here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B3Izv8nF9k6iamRuNFZXcUFlQUk

Video about the project:

Environmental challenge accepted - Public vote

Main page of the project

Organisation: Young Researchers of Serbia (YRS) 

Website: www.mis.org.rs

Dates: 20 May 2017

Place: Belgrade, Serbia

Description of the activity:

Together with students of Landscape Architecture we had an idea to green a little bit our urban city and enrich living space of the tenants in one building of a brand new neighbourhood in Belgrade. Since we had no resources, we have decided to find supporters. First, we have visited botanical fair and asked flower farmers to support our idea by donating us seeds and plants. Thanks to them we have collected 100 diverse plants for our tenants. Conclusion - first step checked. Second, we have realised that we need soil, so our next step was visiting nursery garden of the Faculty of Forestry who gave us free soil and fertilizers. Thank you guys! Third, tenants who took part in our local action “Green Terrace for better Climate” were so kind to buy colourful flowerpots for their terraces as their contribution. Finally, we agreed about the date and students of Landscape Architecture have made perfect combination of plants for each flowerpot and each flat.

What was the environmental problem:

Greenery has positive effect on us, and on the climate. It is widely known about the impact of plants in reducing temperature, especially in summer, as well as their ability of air filtration which reduces air pollution. They also have a role in reducing the solar radiation which makes living conditions in urban areas healthier. Because of it, we wanted to promote this type of activity and return it to the culture of living like it used to be and when Belgrade’s terraces were full of green oases. 

The result of the activity: 

Our action was just the beginning and we have started an avalanche: tenants started buying more plants and flowers, so now their terraces look more beautiful and sitting there during this hot summer was more pleasant. Other neighbours joined them as well, so hopefully soon this area will be greener and “easily breathable”.

Environmental challenge accepted - Public vote

Main page of the project

Organisation: NAJU Hamburg 

Website: www.naju-hamburg.de

Dates: 17 September 2016

Place: Hamburg, Germany

Description of the activity:

With our project we participated to the International Coastal Cleanup Day. We organised a day with workshops and collected waste at the beach of Elbe river. 70 young people under 27 helped us to clean up a part of our urban nature. Besides, we learned interesting facts about "Zero Waste Life", political and economic interests and conflicts on Elbe, plastic waste in oceans and rivers, upcycling and an alternative recycling system from experts. The evening passed with vegetarian food and guitar music at the bonfire.

What was the environmental problem:

Waste in our oceans and rivers is a huge environmental problem. We want to make people aware of it and change something. Our mission is to give young people a voice and show them that everyone can help solving the problem.

The environmental problem involving plastic is huge: a plastic bottle needs 400 years to decompose, up to 100.000 sea mammals and 1 million birds die every year because of plastic waste and 8 million tons of waste end up in the sea every year. The Elbe leads into the North Sea and is one of Hamburg's most frequented destinations to relax or take a walk. A lot of people leave their waste in the sand instead of dispose it into the next dustbin. Because of all these facts we needed to react and make people aware of the problems.

The result of the activity:

Together with 70 people we collected 78 kilograms waste along 1.2 kilometres riverbank. A lot of pedestrians saw our campaign and got aware of all the trash left at the beach. They asked us a lot of questions and some of them even started to help us. With our Coastal Cleanup Day we could change the mindset of many young people. We showed them a whole new environmental friendly lifestyle. We are proud to tell that we could make a whole weekend, the Coastal Cleanup Camp, out of it this year in September.

Environmental challenge accepted - Public vote

Main page of the project