The Hungarian youth organization, Club of Young Naturalists organised its usual research camp for young people this summer again. This is a wildcamp, which provides a great opportunity for environmental education and introduction to field research for teens and young adults while they also do volunteering work by helping the local services in nature conservation.

At these occasion we spent a week in July next to a protected mireland in Őrség, Western Hungary. Due to the climatic features of our country, moors and similar biotopes are rare and endangered in Hungary.

Cooperating with the Őrség National Park for nature conservation purposes, we do monitoring on the flora and fauna of the fen. We examine year by year the changes in population of the Scarce Large Blue butterfly (Maculinea teleius), which is protected in Hungary, and several particular plant species to follow the alterations of the species composition. The monitoring has been established to see the effects of different types of mowing, completed by collecting more data of local species.

We survey the springs which are feeding the mires too. This year we had lovely weather and managed to fulfill all these things. We did investigations in water chemistry and observed the macro-invertebrate fauna of the stream next to the camp. These activities were not so much part of the volunteering field work, but used for teaching field practices to our participants. Apart from the scientific occupations we spent the afternoons with some handicraft activities, like batik painting and felting, playing sport and we did a short hike as well.

All in all we had a wonderful week again, with great people in a beautiful place!

To know more about us visit our website.

Club of Young Naturalists