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Description
In the current difficult time, when a number of human activities are limited, the attention of a large part of society is more often turning to the natural beauties of the Czech landscapes. Much has been written about the negative impact of overtourism on mountain localities, but greater pressure on natural heritage is also evident in other ecosystems, especially those that are easily accessible (eg. suburban forests and meadows). Experts agree that one of the key aspects of protecting these ecosystems is informing the public about the value of endangered habitats and the consequences that human activities have on nature. Our project responds to this situation. Its aim is to raise awareness of the state of ecosystems in the Elbe Valley, both among locals and numerous domestic and foreign visitors, to point out specific manifestations of general environmental problems in this area and motivate to environmentally friendly behavior.
The means of this education will be: a) creation of a popular science publication on selected ecosystems of the Elbe valley and drawing attention to the environmental problems of this area, the creation of a quest for families with children and a field museum program for schools based on the topics of the publication; b) short films with a total time longer than 40 min. based on the topics of the publication; c) realization of an exhibition in the museum, which will be followed by other educational activities, ie. lectures for schools, guided tours and excursions for the public; d) publishing of three popular science articles on selected topics.
Summary of project results
Experts agree that one of the key aspects of nature conservation is public awareness of the value of ecosystems and the consequences of human activities on nature. Much has already been written about the negative impact of overtourism on mountain sites, but greater pressure on natural heritage is also evident in other ecosystems, especially those that are easily accessible (e.g. suburban forests and meadows). The aim of our project was to raise awareness of the state of ecosystems in the model area of the Elbe Valley among the general public, to highlight specific manifestations of general environmental problems in this area and to motivate biodiversity conservation and environmentally friendly behaviour.
Our project responds to this situation by raising awareness of the state of the ecosystems in the Elbe Valley, both among local residents and numerous domestic and international visitors, by highlighting specific manifestations of the general environmental problems in the area and by motivating environmentally friendly behaviour. We have implemented several activities in the project. We made a series of short films, organised exhibitions with a rich accompanying programme, published three popular educational articles and an awareness campaign. Public awareness is one of the key aspects of nature conservation. The project outputs make problems in local ecosystems accessible to a wide range of target groups. Field trips and school programs further help residents to develop a positive, close relationship with local nature.
By implementing the project we have contributed to informing the public about environmental problems in Ústí nad Labem. Thanks to short films published on YouTube, a publication and an article, we managed to reach over 100,000 people. Over 7,000 visitors came directly to the museum and the accompanying programme. Based on the positive feedback and interest in the exhibition, films, school programmes and public events, we believe that we have succeeded in raising awareness of the problems in local ecosystems.
The reach of the outputs was an order of magnitude higher than expected and, especially thanks to the short films, we managed to reach groups for whom environmental issues are not a priority. The exhibition and associated school programmes were very popular, as were the public events. In the long term, a major benefit of the project is the inclusion of the outputs (especially the field trips and school programmes) in the permanent offer of our education department. Thanks to the project, we were able to reach many people and show them how they can contribute to biodiversity conservation in the Elbe Valley.