Clean Future – Environmental Protection and Plastic Waste

Insights into the environmental youth camp in Vahagnadzor, August 2023

In the middle of August, employees and volunteers of the NABU branch in Armenia organised a youth camp for adolescents at the retreat known as “Gugark,” located in the town of Vahagnadzor. Aiming at promoting environmental awareness among young people, the camp offered courses, competitions and games dealing with environmental topics. 35 adolescents participated in the diverse programme. For example, they could take action for environmental protection by participating in cleanup events, spend calm evenings watching short films about environmental topics and test their newly acquired knowledge in a quiz.

Through a competition, adolescents could collect extra points and thus get to participate in the harvest festival, which is co-organised by the Armenian NABU branch this year. The participants of the camp were divided into three teams: vultures, white storks and golden eagles. After the results of all the competitions were in, the white storks scored the highest number of points.

In September, the winners spent an exciting weekend in Dzoraghbyur. In the town to the east of Yerevan, the young conservationists took part in other environmental courses planned by NABU employees in Armenia.

The project is being implemented in cooperation with three local partners - the NABU branch in Armenia, the NGO "Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development of Communities" (ISSD) and "For People and Nature Armenian Association" (FPNA) - and the NAJU national office. It is funded by the Federal Foreign Office.

Insights into the delegation trip to Germany, October 2023

Within the scope of the “Clean Future” project, a delegation of Armenian conservationists visited NABU in Germany. The aim of the trip was to exchange ideas on how volunteers can be mobilised in nature conservation. The group brought with them many questions and perspectives from their own conservation work, for example:

• How does NABU’s development as an association on the national and international level compare to the working situation in Armenia?
• How does the NAJU promote the long-term involvement of young people?
• How can we convey knowledge about consumer behaviour and waste management in an age-appropriate way?

Searching for answers, the delegation travelled almost 2,000 kilometres across Germany.

Stations of the journey

The first stop was the NABU state office in Düsseldorf. There, the Armenian environmentalists and regional volunteers exchanged project ideas and experiences and discussed many aspects of specific nature conservation work on the ground. Together, they visited the NABU nature conservation farm Nettetal, where, thanks to the tireless work of volunteers and staff, various biotopes have been cultivated. Among these are orchard meadows, insect hotels, nest boxes, ponds, dry and wet grasslands, herb and rock gardens – an oasis for the preservation of biodiversity.

The delegation then travelled to the Harz region. The group was deeply affected by the extent of the forest dieback in some areas of this low mountain range. Subsequently, they visited the NABU National Park Centre in Sankt Andreasberg and the HarzForestHouse in Bad Harzburg. There they learned about the causes of the dieback – including years of poor forestry management – and the consequences for climate and people.

A current exhibition at the NABU Nature Discovery Centre Blumberg Mill in Brandenburg offered many interesting insights into how peatland conservation protects species and the climate. The subsequent walk through the Nature Discovery Landscape illustrated the importance of using our water resources in an eco-friendly way. The exhibition also showed how volunteers are involved in the maintenance of the NABU-owned sites and managing the large lakeside landscape.

Moreover, the delegation explored the NABU-Nature-Experience-Centre in Holzminden. Thanks to the commitment of NABU members and local NAJU groups, a paradise of species diversity has been created here.

Planning joint projects

At the end of the journey the participants travelled to Berlin. In the capital, the focus was on the work of the NABU and NAJU Headquarters, compared to the work at the state level. The group discussed how cooperation between Armenian and German conservationists can be further developed.

This trip not only generated common knowledge, but fostered the development of many ideas for joint projects to protect the climate and the environment. Equipped with this inspiration, the delegation headed home to continue and expand their vital work.