G R A N T S
The grant, under the earmarked topic of nature and biodiversity, was awarded to ELF to research and publicize the fate of wooded meadows and alvars in Estonia. During the project's inventory phase, a one square meter plot of one meadow was found to include 74 species of vascular plants, surpassing the previous European record by six species.
According to the ELF, alvars are unique ecosystems rich in plant species and found only in Estonia and on the Swedish islands of Gotland and Oland. Before World War II, open alvars and managed wooded meadows were typical landscapes for Western Estonia and the archipelago, but now the few remaining fragments are endangered. Wooded meadows depend on regular maintenance by farmers who mow the fields for hay and animal grazing, but traditional practices are presently being abandoned.
The research component of the project included the creation of a computerized database detailing over 320 inventoried sites of wooded meadow habitats in Estonia. In areas determined to be of high social and species value, complete geo-botanical analyses were performed. The project also included six working camps of volunteers who learned about meadow habitat and who actively mowed and cleared the meadows to increase areas for grazing and hay production.
Publicity resulting from the project included a series of articles and broadcasts made about the wooded meadows. ELF is particularly proud of a 15-minute special on national television and a book about historical wooded meadows in Estonia. A home-page dedicated to wooded meadows was also created in English: http://www.zbi.ee/ecophys/wood.htm. The project brought much-needed attention to these habitats and ELF's work set the foundation for further efforts in the conservation and management of wooded meadows in Estonia.
The Balkan bear population, dominated by the Bulgarian bear, is the third largest in Europe and the most preserved sub-population of the strongly fragmented Mediterranean bear population. The Bulgarian bear is also protected under the Bern Convention for the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.
Based on the successes of the initial project, a cooperative project on Balkan Bear conservation was awarded to continue this important work and to enhance the BBCN. As bears do not recognize national borders, the project provides for cooperation between Bulgaria, Albania, Greece and FYR Macedonia to develop a model regional conservation strategy. Protection of natural bear corridors will also be provided after completing a comprehensive study of populations and habitats through socio-economic surveys and Balkan environmental awareness and education programs.
For its excellent efforts in conservation, the Society received an award from the Henry Ford Foundation for its "Long-term preservation of the Bulgarian bear population" program.
Entitled "Five times environmental education, five different ways", and led by Slovakian NGO Klub Humanita, the program's main goal was to create appropriate environmental education for five target groups including 126 pre-school children, 130 primary school children, 60 mentally handicapped children, 112 high school students, and 134 teachers, educators and other adults who were involved. As a result, the vast majority of Senica's educators had a chance to participate in the project and nearly all of the town's children will, at least once in their kindergarten or school careers, receive instruction from a teacher who was involved in this project, hopefully making Senica a more environmentally concerned community in the future.
Active from January 1995 until the end of March 1997, the project took place both inside and outside of the classroom. All target groups had the opportunity to participate in field trips to Austria and Slovakia's countryside, and an exhibition of children's art was exchanged with a Slovenian NGO in the city of Zagorje ob Savi. Klub Humanita also made contact with other NGOs and networks on environmental education throughout Slovakia as well as in Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Materials prepared for environmental education were a tangible result of the project, including a series of workbooks in Slovakian language called "The Secrets of the Animals", produced for kindergarten, young primary school and mentally handicapped children.
