“The simple flap of a butterfly can change the world” – under this slogan the European Day of Natura 2000 is celebrated.
The main events of the European Day of Natura 2000 sites are organised annually on 21 May. The date is not accidental, and it is directly linked to the date of 21 May 1992, when the Habitats Directive was approved (the Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora). The Habitats Directive is an act closely connected with and developing the vision of actions outlined previously with reference to birds in the so-called Birds Directive (Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, replaced by Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds). Both directives form the cornerstone of the EU wide Natura 2000 ecological network – the network of protected areas, safeguarded species of plants, animals and habitats endangered on the European scale and characteristic of Europe. On this occasion, to raise the importance of the event, across Europe a variety of events are organized with the participation of local partners and communities, making people more aware of the Natura 2000 network.
On 23 May 2016 team members of LIFEDrawaPL Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Szczecin in cooperation with the Drawieński National Park, as well as forest districts from the Western Pomerania region: Gryfino, Drawno, Kliniska and the Voivodship Fund for Environmental Protection in Szczecin joined in the promotion of the European Day of Natura 2000 sites.
Representatives of the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection RDEP conducted classes of active education for the youth of Lower Secondary School in Drawno in the form of an educational panel devoted to the Drawa, species of fish and plants that live in this river and habitats associated with it. The action was attended by nearly 60 people. The meeting’s topics were: a presentation of the LIFEDrawaPL project, lectures with the youth active participation on migratory fish and threats to their migrations, the role and place of water in the landscape, including protected hydrogenic habitats and the role and importance of the network of Natura 2000 sites with particular emphasis on aquatic ecosystems.
In the second, field part of the meeting led by employees of the Drawieński National Park the youth wandered along the shores of Lake Adamowo to understand better the theory imparted earlier in the classroom. During their walk they collected rubbish left by those who still need to learn a lot in order to understand how beautiful and unique world they destroy. At the end there was a joint bonfire with sausages and a scientific knowledge competition with prizes conducted by the employees of RDEP in Szczecin. It was very heartening that the youth actively participated both in the competition as well as in the whole European Day of Natura 2000 sites.
