The restoration of nature in Croatia’s Velebit Mountains is enabling an financial shift from looking to wildlife watching. By placing cameras within the arms of native college students, and enabling them to attach with their pure atmosphere, a current images workshop highlighted the social advantages of this transition.
Nino Salkić
From weapons to cameras
Within the Velebit Mountains of Croatia, the continued efforts of the Rewilding Velebit group are supporting a gradual resurgence within the space’s spectacular wildlife. This restoration is enabling a contemporary and sustainable strategy to wildlife administration – primarily based on wildlife watching, slightly than the standard practise of looking – and driving the event of a burgeoning nature-based financial system. 5 wildlife watching hides, which turned operational in 2023, at the moment are producing rising income, with extra tourism merchandise within the pipeline.
To advertise the advantages of rewilding, and to attach folks with Velebit nature, the Rewilding Velebit group are additionally working exhausting to construct engagement. On the finish of June, members of the group organised two consecutive two-day images workshops within the village of Baške Oštarije, near the city of Gospić. The 16 Gospić Excessive College college students who took half over the 4 days have been taught a variety of images and videography expertise, after which given time to observe them capturing wild nature content material within the subject.
“Searching continues to be a extremely popular pastime in Croatia,” explains Rewilding Velebit communications officer Kruno Bošnjaković. “Getting younger folks concerned about taking pictures nature with a digicam means they’re far much less possible exit taking pictures wildlife with a rifle later. It was improbable to see how placing a digicam into the arms of a 17-year-old gave them a brand new appreciation for wildlife and nature conservation, to not point out sowing the seeds of a cool new pastime and potential future profession.”
Kruno Bošnjaković
Forging new connections with nature
The workshop proved inspirational for a lot of of those that took half, with the group receiving plenty of optimistic suggestions.
“I wasn’t actually concerned about images in any respect earlier than this expertise,” says Iva Šušić. “However these two days made me realise how wonderful it’s to indicate folks the great thing about nature via photos and movie. I actually appreciated the strategy of the instructors and realized many issues about taking pictures with cameras and smartphones. Now I need to develop my expertise by beginning to hike and {photograph} mountains and the landscapes round them.”
Fellow members Mihaela Ivšinović and Borna Benković have been equally enthused.
“Essentially the most helpful factor for me was studying how a lot I have to respect nature and the way invaluable it’s,” says Mihaela. “I actually loved the images and am serious about getting extra into this pastime.”
“I cherished filming movies with the cameras,” provides Borna. “I’d love the chance to get into filming wildlife and wild locations sooner or later.”
Unknown Workshop Participant
Knowledgeable instruction
The Velebit images workshop was made potential by a non-public donation, which paid for 5 model new DSLR cameras and a collection of lenses, meals, and lodging. The scholars have been taught find out how to use the cameras and photographic methods by Rewilding Velebit rewilding officer and achieved photographer Nino Salkić, complemented by a lesson in taking pictures video and visible storytelling given by Croatian filmmaker Ante Gugić. They have been additionally given an introduction into rewilding and its advantages.
Now that they’ve the photographic gear, the Rewilding Velebit group are planning to carry additional workshops. The intention is to carry the following occasion in early November, for a combined group of scholars and adults. Within the meantime, the group’s rangers are utilizing the cameras to reinforce their very own photographic expertise throughout the rewilding panorama.
Nino Salkić
Invaluable help
Rewilding Europe’s work in our rewilding landscapes is supported by a variety of extremely valued companions. We’d significantly 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 influence.
