In addition to conservation activities, Center for the Environment is dedicated to the promotion of the importance of nature and the inseparable connection of people with it. “Far from the eyes – far from the heart” really applies in this case as well, so this year we found time to take the citizens of Banja Luka on educational walks in the forests around Banja Luka.
Together with Draško Adamović, we organized a singing forest walk, during which all participants had the opportunity to expand their knowledge of ornitofauna. During a leisurely walk, everyone had the opportunity to observe our feathered neighbors with the help of binoculars and binoculars, but also to hear more about their lives, needs and the very important roles they play in the ecosystems they inhabit.
The second walk, led by Nikola Pećanac, was dedicated to the forests themselves, to everything they mean to us, to the knowledge of woody and herbaceous plants, and at the end of the walk, the participants tried their hand at artistic expression with the help of the collected material. On that occasion, the coloring books developed by the Center for the Environment with the desire to bring Banja Luka forests closer to the youngest generations were distributed.
Both walks took place in the area of Šehitluci, which are only part of the scope for which Center for the Environment, together with partners, is working on the declaration of protection.
“Three years have passed since the initiation of the initiative to protect the forests around Banja Luka, and we are slowly bringing our part of the work to an end by creating a protection study. Citizens have certainly already widely recognized the importance of this area for their psycho-physical health, relaxation and recreation, however, it is necessary to add a number of other irreplaceable contributions that forests have to regulating the microclimate, water cycle, CO2 storage, etc. and at a time of increasingly intense consequences of climate change, their importance becomes even greater.” said Igor Kalaba, coordinator of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas program.
In addition to forest walks, appropriate coloring books that reached the students’ desks and kindergarten desks, we continued education by expanding the educational furniture in Šehitluci, and in cooperation with JPŠ “Forests of the Republic of Srpska” – Banja Luka Department and Hunting Association “Zmijanje” Banja Luka put up two new information boards, this time dedicated to bears, with information about the species and recommendations for behavior in nature in the areas inhabited by this wonderful species.
“Right next to the urban zone of the city of Banja Luka is the northern limit of the bear’s permanent habitat, determined during the development of the Brown Bear Management Plan in the Republic of Srpska. As this area is increasingly visited for day trips, rest and recreation, we believe that it is very important that all forest visitors are familiar with the species with which they share this precious space. On the information boards, we have presented recommendations and general rules of conduct that a person as a reasonable being should take in order to minimize any unpleasant situations.”