Last year, the very first camp for children about nature was organised in Ranilug Municipality. That was a pure experiment, trial and pilot for us and the local community. We were not sure if it would work out at all, how many children would be interested, how many would give up and so forth. At the very beginning, we hoped for 15 children, which would be an amazing success.
And then we started the camp with the trip to Brezovica. 30+ children joined, and for many of them it was the first time to go to Brezovica. From the first day, we knew that it would be a success, and we finished the camp with more than 30 children taking part in activities every day. The camp was organised in the primary school in Rajanovce, and with the financial and logistical support of Ranilug Municipality.
Everyone was happy and satisfied (some of us were exhausted, but happy to be so), so we concluded the camp with the idea to organize it again.
Based on last year’s experience, we decided to have two groups based on age. That also meant 2 weeks of activities and we did it!
Two weeks of learning, fun, games and friendships in the forest.
We were lucky this year to be given even a bigger trust by the Municipality. We got to use the newly built tourist info centre in Drenovce. The best part of it is that it is situated in the forest, meaning we could learn directly about nature. Sonja and Gaga were again with us, and we had extraordinary help from scout groups from France.
Some of the activities done this year were:
- Pollination
- Ecosystem services
- Web of life
- The power of water
- We learnt about scout movement and how to set up a tent, use compass and orientation in nature. And of course, we learnt how to make different knots 🙂
- Clean up actions
- Building with earth
- We made “ojos de dios”
- And a big map of the area
Both groups visited Bear Sanctuary Pristhina and Brezovica in Shar National Park. We discovered the beauty of pristine nature and mountain streams and we also understood how devastating it is for nature to build small hydropower plants on such streams.
Finally, with the older children and most brave ones, we organized one night in the forest, around a fire, with music, stars and friends.
The conclusion of this year’s camp is the same. It makes a lot of sense to organize it again next year. Some children from the last year were involved again, some were new, but all of them was happy to be part of it. Children are much closer to nature than adults, and such camps can enhance the connection with nature and environmental awareness, which will ensure a better future for them. Current adults do not know how to deal with all the environmental problems they created themselves, therefore, we believe that these children will make the change and deal with it in proper way, once their time comes.
Thank you, Ranilug Municipality, Watipiverts, Le Incomparables, Sonja & Gaga!
