From schoolchildren and college students to beekeepers and on a regular basis residents, the Rewilding Velebit group is constructing engagement with a variety of stakeholders, amplifying help for his or her nature restoration efforts.
Neil Aldridge / Rewilding Europe
Capturing hearts and minds
Within the Velebit Mountains of Croatia, a 145-kilometre lengthy massif that lies parallel to the nation’s Adriatic coast, the Rewilding Velebit group are working to create a big wildlife hall throughout the gorgeous and biodiverse panorama. Having bought 5 searching concessions – encompassing 30,000 hectares of forest and grassland within the coronary heart of the Velebit Nature Park – they’re now overseeing a transition from conventional hunting-based administration in the direction of wildlife watching, which is supporting a gradual resurgence in wildlife. 5 wildlife watching hides, which turned operational late final 12 months, at the moment are attracting rising numbers of tourists.
Creating and nurturing optimistic attitudes in the direction of nature and nature restoration amongst stakeholders is important to the success of those efforts. The Rewilding Velebit group carries out a variety of outreach actions, inspiring folks of all backgrounds to wish to shield and improve the majestic nature of the Velebit Mountains, and to generate extra help for rewilding.
“The Velebit Mountains are extremely precious – each for the character they comprise, and for the those that reside right here and go to. By way of rewilding and our ongoing engagement efforts, we’re dedicated to enhancing that worth.”
Kruno Bošnjaković
Rewilding Velebit Communications Officer
Fashionable premiere
Final 12 months, one of many engagement highlights of the Rewilding Velebit group was the premiere of “A New Path for the Velebit Mountains“, a 15-minute documentary shot by award-winning French filmmaker Emmanuel Rondeau. This enthralling brief movie was screened for the primary time within the native city of Gospić, drawing a big and various viewers of over 100 folks. The documentary has now been considered on-line greater than 8000 instances.
“I used to be knowledgeable and impressed by this lovely documentary,” says Jasenka Svetić, a resident of Gospić who attended the premiere. “Seeing the ability and variety of nature in Velebit actually stunned me. I imagine rewilding may also help folks and wildlife to reside alongside one another right here, and convey advantages by means of nature-based tourism.”
Producing buzz
Selling human-wildlife coexistence within the Velebit Mountains is especially vital as species similar to brown bears are current within the panorama. On the finish of October, the Rewilding Velebit organised a seminar for seven beekeepers within the village of Jablanac. Apiaries, particularly, can appeal to bears trying to find meals, which implies defending hives may also help to extend acceptance of bears within the panorama. The group talked with native beekeepers about tips on how to stop bear injury, and the way they may also help by repairing present fencing and putting in new electrical fences.
“The seminar in Jablanac was helpful and fascinating,” says Hrvoje Spodnjak, a beekeeper who owns an apiary inside Velebit Nature Park. “I suffered plenty of bear injury to my hives two years in the past, and I believe an electrical fence, which the rewilding group will set up quickly, will assist to forestall this. I imagine folks and wildlife can coexist in Velebit and the Rewilding Velebit group are doing a terrific job making this occur.”
Frans Schepers
The searching perspective
With searching nonetheless extensively practised in Velebit, the Rewilding Velebit group regularly interact native hunters in constructive dialogue. They usually warn folks in regards to the well being dangers of lead ammunition, and provide non-hazardous, lead-free ammunition to hunters as a preferential various.
In late 2022, Rewilding Velebit signed an settlement with representatives of six neighbouring searching concessions, as a primary step in establishing good relations and greatest follow on varied points. Final 12 months, an vital milestone within the transition in the direction of wildlife watching throughout the Velebit panorama was reached when the Rewilding Velebit group helped to arrange a wildlife watching disguise on a neighbouring concession.
Neil Aldridge
Instructional outreach
Connecting kids with nature may also help to create a technology of eco-conscious people who wish to take an lively position in nature restoration.
The objective of the Rewilding Velebit-designed “Once I develop up I wish to be a wildlife ranger” workshop is to introduce schoolchildren to the wildlife of Velebit, and encourage them to be lively nature guardians. Final 12 months, the Rewilding Velebit group held a collection of those workshops in varied places, whereas in addition they organised a big carnivore discipline journey for college students on the Karlovac College of Utilized Sciences.
Rewilding Velebit
Past Velebit
The Rewilding Velebit group have additionally stepped up their efforts to achieve folks past the panorama. The launch of an English-Croatian Rewilding Velebit web site has allowed folks from Croatia and internationally be taught in regards to the group’s work. Within the autumn of final 12 months, a photograph exhibition within the Croatian capital Zagreb drew a major viewers and helped the group set up new relationships. And a variety of Rewilding Velebit branded merchandise – that includes the brown bear, gray wolf, and Eurasian lynx because the three iconic carnivores of the Velebit panorama – has seen rewilding promoted on the streets and in houses proper throughout the nation.
Constructing on their spectacular engagement efforts to this point, in the present day the Rewilding Velebit group are persevering with their efforts to scale up outreach.
“The Velebit Mountains are extremely precious – each for the character they comprise, and for the those that reside right here and go to,” says Rewilding Velebit Communications Officer Kruno Bošnjaković. “By way of rewilding and our ongoing engagement efforts, we’re dedicated to enhancing that worth.”
Workshop Participant
Invaluable help
Rewilding Europe’s work in our rewilding landscapes is supported by a variety of extremely valued companions. We might notably prefer to acknowledge these offering core funding – notably the Ecological Restoration Fund, the Dutch Postcode Lottery, WWF-Netherlands, and Arcadia. Their longstanding help performs a essential position in enabling us to ship and scale up rewilding impression.
Need to know extra?
This weblog is taken from an extended story entitled “The Velebit Connection”, which featured within the Rewilding Europe Annual Overview 2023.
Obtain a PDF of the story Or try our Annual Overview 2023
