PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
SEO/Birdlife has a long history of developing volunteering programmes. Despite being the major network of protected sites in Europe, the Natura 2000 network still largely unknown, especially among young people. Volunteering activities are believed to be highly effective for awareness raising, dissemination and education because they are experiential. They are also considered a way of completing the academic education of young people.
OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of the Followers of the Natura 2000 network project was to increase awareness of Natura 2000 in Spain among young people, who in the future will be responsible for its care.
Specifically, the project aimed to:
- Create a network of young volunteers committed to the Natura 2000 network;
- Develop different and new ways for volunteers to participate in the improvement of the Natura 2000 network;
- Design and run activities aimed at young volunteers, involving monitoring, awareness-raising and conservation actions in Natura 2000 sites; and
- Provide training for young volunteers that will help them with their subsequent entry into work.
RESULTS
The LIFEFOLLOWERSRN2000 project achieved its overall goal of increasing awareness of Natura 2000 among young people in Spain, establishing an efficient online recruitment system for volunteers. A total of 1 203 young people registered through the dedicated website, with 316 working a total of 11 472 days (around 36 days per volunteer).
The volunteering programme was implemented in 26 Natura 2000 sites in four target areas: Doñana, River Ebro Delta, Valencia Albufera, and the greater Madrid area. The project hired local coordinators who were responsible for training and managing the volunteers, supervising their work and organising the activities and the logistics (accommodation, transport, food, etc.). Some volunteers also worked in the regional and local offices of SEO/Birdlife (Madrid, Santander, Canarias, Barcelona, etc.). The project allowed volunteers to establish professional contacts that may be useful for their future careers.
The project delivered more than 500 hours of training to volunteers (theoretical sessions and practical courses with experts and technicians), while a total of 98 conservation and monitoring activities were proposed to the volunteers. In each action area, the coordinating beneficiary defined the activities often in collaboration with the entity responsible for the management (e.g. natural or national parks).
The conservation actions achieved the following quantifiable results:
- At least 500 m3 of invasive plants and animals removed (seven flora species and six fauna species);
- More than 5 000 saplings planted (in dunes and river banks mainly);
- More than 300 kg of litter removed;
- More than 300 sessions of bird banding resulting in the ringing of around 4 100 individuals;
- 428 animals saved from traps (amphibians, reptiles, birds and small mammals); and
- Nest boxes and insect shelters installed.
Other activities included a bird census, monitoring of macroinvertebrates and mapping of invasive species. Office-based work included the production of 111 documents, such as maps, databases and educational material, covering a wide range of aspects related to Natura 2000 and helping to improve knowledge of specific sites.
The communication campaign helped raise the profile of the project online, with the official hashtags #FollowNature and #LIFEFollowers achieving more than 1.4 million hits. The website and linked blog also served to highlight the project activities and the materials produced, including a far-reaching report on volunteering in Spain. Finally, SEO/Birdlife has been assessing possibilities of engaging the more than 850 volunteers who signed up but could not participate. Some small initiatives have been launched, including ‘Followers 2.0’ in the Madrid area.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
