Description
The natural heritage of Romania faces severe challenges caused by the increase of the anthropogenic pressure imposed by socioeconomic development. The effects of these changes are aggravated by the lack of interest and information of the citizens and the experts in charge with different habitat types' management. The Romanian Ornithological Society aims to implement a project in order to sensitize, inform and activate these target groups, addressing them in different ways. The public will be addressed by information campaigns and events about bird conservation, the children and teachers by taking part in conservation activities, while the forestry experts by the facilitation of an experience exchange, and by demonstrating the effectiveness of biological control methods in practice. This way, the implementation of the present project on one hand will have a direct conservation effect, while through its information campaigns it will contribute to the shaping of an eco-friendly attitude of the public, compatible with the principles of sustainability.
Summary of project results
Romanian natural heritage faces serious changes due to the anthropic pressure increase. The effects of these changes are aggravated by the lack of public interest and information. Therefore, the Romanian Ornithological Society developed a project aiming to sensitize, inform and activate several target groups from Cluj-Napoca city and nearby areas. The children and teachers were involved in conservation activities, while the forestry experts participated to practical demonstration of the efficiency of the biological control methods. Consequently, different methods of helping cavity nesting birds were presented. One of them was the installation of 1,360 nest boxes. 120 of the nest boxes were installed in local parks, while the rest were distributed in forests and orchards, having a direct conservation effect for the species of community interest. The need for nest boxes was proven by the high occupancy rate, occasionally reaching up to 100%. The movement had a great influence upon local schools, and several started similar projects. 2 workshops where families could build their own bird-feeder from natural and recycled materials were organised. Also, 6 feeders were installed in the city parks. Pupils from 6 different schools were involved in the maintenance of the feeders, thus making it possible for children to gain responsibility towards nature. The activity included presentations at the schools, 3 bird ringing sessions and public checking of nest boxes, therefore, being able to inform directly 1,500 children. In order to raise awareness on the urban biodiversity, 3,000 flyers were printed, 5 informational billboards were installed, and three more events were organized: the “Nightingale’s night” with classical music and birdsongs, “A day with birds” with bird ringing activities, different games and handcrafting for children, and “Bird day” - covering a more diverse public, the programme included birdwatching, handcrafting for children and scientific presentations. More than 1,000 participants attended these events. The other part of the project was related to promoting sustainability amongst the experts of the forestry department. The nest boxes installed in the forest served this purpose by promoting a nature-friendly method to combat pest insects. In order to show the efficiency of this method, presentations were held and a scientific article was published. Almost 40 volunteers were involved in the project.
Summary of bilateral results