Public institution "priroda" holds three educational workshops in april

Prospekt Collaboration with schools


Photo 1. Equipment used in the workshop “Ponds, the Oases of the Karst”

WORKSHOPS ORGANIZED WITHIN THE SCIENCE FESTIVAL

As part of the 12th Science Festival held in 14 towns in Croatia, Public Institution “Priroda” and the Rab Adult Education Centre were co-organizers of two educational workshops concerned with biodiversity and nature protection on Rab Island.

The first workshop entitled “Ponds, the Oases of the Karst” was held in the morning hours of 2 April on Fruga plateau for the sixth-grade pupils of “Ivan Rabljanin” Elementary School. Aimed at underscoring the importance of ponds as hotbeds of biological diversity in the Mediterranean karst, the workshop focused on organisms found in pond water. The introductory lecture and demonstration was followed by practical exercises which required the pupils to catch organisms living in Fruška Pond, the island’s largest pond, using a hooped net for capturing freshwater organisms. A number of different invertebrate species were captured, the most of which included mayfly larvae, zingel larvae, saucer bugs, fresh water snails and leaches.

Bird-ringing”, the second workshop, was held in the morning hours of 2 April in the salt marshes of Sv. Eufemija Cove and was attended by the pupils of the second grade of “Markantun De Domimis High School. The aim of the workshop was to teach pupils about the great diversity of bird fauna on Rab Island which is the result of the island’s highly diverse habitats. Birds were captured in the early morning hours using a mist net. Three species were caught: the blackcap, the chiffchaff and the scops owl. At the workshop, the pupils acquired basic knowledge and experience in identifying bird species and in handling birds during bird ringing.

“The Forest is My Home” Workshop

In collaboration with the “Mlaka” Child Care Centre, a short workshop entitled “The Forest is My Home” was organized for the centre’s children. Some 30 “Shrimps” and “Stars”, aged three to six, attended the workshop, and toddlers from the under-three group dropped by for a short while to see what was going on. The children learned that there are hidden cameras in the forest taking photos of wild animals. Some animals which live near a camera, such as the dormouse, are always ready to pose for a shot, while other animals seem to be very camera shy. The children also learned that there are no giraffes or tigers or panthers in the forests of Gorski Kotar but rather, other animals, such as deer and lynxes. However, the knowledge of animals and animal habits the kids displayed surprised their “nannies”. In addition to having a good time at the workshop, the children also learned many new things. We hope that the future will see many more examples of such lively collaboration.


Photo 2. Capturing and identifying animals from Fruška Pond


Photo 3. Mayfly larva (Ephemeroptera)


Photo 4. A saucer bug (Heteroptera)


Photo 5. Hirudo medicinalis


Photo 6. Demonstrating how birds are captured using mist nets


Photo 7. A scops owl (Otus scops) attracted the most attention at the workshop.


Photo 8. A chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) also flew into the net.


Photo 9. Data taken of a blackcap are entered into a form (Sylvia atricapilla)


Photo 10. The expressions on the faces of “Shrimps” and “Stars” at the workshop “The Forest is My Home” speak more than words.