Ann-Kristin
"YOUth FOR NATURE inspires and motivates me to actively participate in the implementation of projects and to get other young people interested in nature conservation.”
YOUth FOR NATURE
YOUth FOR NATURE is aimed at all nature-loving people who want to get involved in environmental projects and are between 15 and 29 years old. Together with like-minded people, you can initiate your own projects and implement them with the support of the Gesäuse National Park. The Grazer Wechselseitiger and their youth brand “GRAWE sidebyside” provide the financial support.
You want to join in?
Then get in touch with the national park at youthfornature@nationalpark-gesaeuse.at
YOUth FOR NATURE replaces the former "Jugendbeirat" of the Gesäuse National Park.
Team YOUth FOR NATURE
Agnes
"I really want to make a difference with my motivation and enthusiasm for nature."
Maria
"Working together for nature and the environment, that's why I'm with YOUth FOR NATURE!"
Vanessa
“With us, ideas grow particularly quickly. So it's all the nicer to watch them bloom."
Mina
"I want to spark a love and fascination for nature in people."
Jana
“I want to convey the joy of nature and the importance of environmental protection to people. Because it makes SENSE!”
Rebekka
“Nothing fulfills me more than experiencing wild nature. YOUth FOR NATURE gives me the opportunity to become active together, to have a say, to participate. So that this experience is also possible for future generations.”
Sarah
"Nature and the mountains give me so much, so I want to give something back to them!"
Catherine
„Ich verbringe meine Freizeit am liebsten in der Natur – egal ob im Wald, in Schluchten, auf Bergen, in Felswände oder in Seen – ich möchte, dass diese Erlebnisse auch für die nächsten Generationen möglich sind.“
Implemented projects
März 2024
Europarc federation workshop
Von 11.3.-16.3. war unser Team im Nationalpark Müritz in Deutschland eingeladen. Gemeinsam mit Mitgliedern und Mentor:innen anderer europäischer Schutzgebiete nahmen wir an einem Workshop der Europarc Federation teil. Im Rahmen dessen erarbeiteten wir einen Leitfaden für Jugendgruppen, lernten viel Neues für die Umsetzung unserer eigenen Projekte und hatten die Möglichkeit uns international besser zu vernetzen!
Februar 2024
Kleidertausch
Am 25.2. veranstalteten wir unseren ersten Kleidertausch im Volkshaus Admont. Über 60 Besucher:innen schmökerten durch zahlreiche gespendete Kleidungsstücke, tauschten diese, informierten sich über die ökologischen Zusammenhänge der Textilproduktion und genossen das regionale Buffet. Die verbliebenen Kleidungsstücke spendeten wir an die Caritas Carla Läden in Admont, Liezen und Stainach.
November 2023
PARLIAMENT VIENNA
YOUth FOR NATURE was invited to Parliament in Vienna by the Green Federal Councillors. There, we were given an exclusive tour and then presented our team and our projects as part of the "LOCAL HEROES" event.
November 2023
RADIO FREEQUENNS
On 29 November, Vanessa and Sarah visited Nationalpark Radio. They introduced our team and talked about our successful projects from this year. You can listen to them in the Radio Library of the Free Radios or wherever podcasts are available!
October 2023
TEAM OUTING
At the end of October, our team spent a weekend in the Waldviertel. On Saturday, we visited the Heidenreichsteiner Moor Nature Park. The highlights were the observation of a pygmy owl and two white-tailed eagles as well as a short barefoot walk on the moor. We then travelled on to our accommodation in Hardegg, the smallest town in Austria. In the evening, a wildcat tour awaited us in the Thayatal National Park. On Sunday, we went on a guided hike through the national park and were able to gain an insight into the species-rich fauna and flora of the national park. It was a weekend where we not only learnt new technical things, but also had time to chat and get to know each other better outside of our project work.
September 2023
Last Generation" film month
YOUth FOR NATURE took on the current topic of "Last Generation" and organised a film month in September. Once a week, selected films on the topics of nature conservation, activism and hydropower were shown at the FOKUS photography school in Admont. The films were accompanied by specialist lectures and discussion panels and were met with great interest.
September 2023
BARBECUE DURING XEI CLEANING
Some of our members took part in the National Park Clean Up "Xeisputz" again this year. As a thank you to all the volunteers, we organised a veggie barbecue at the National Park Adventure Centre after the Xei Clean Up.
July 2023
YOUTH THINKS WILD - YOUR OPINION COUNTS!
At the end of July, a small group of young adults were given the opportunity to actively contribute their opinions on the topics of nature conservation and research. YOUth FOR NATURE organised a weekend for all interested parties at the Buchsteinhaus. In addition to a fantastic backdrop and a guided hike, interactive discussions were held on sustainable topics. At the end of the workshop, concrete proposals for future scientific research were identified.
July 2023
PRIMARY SCHOOLS LIEZEN
YOUth FOR NATURE has decided to organise and finance a trip to the Gesäuse National Park for the 4th grade of VS Liezen. The aim was to give all children the opportunity to go on a trip into the countryside and enjoy an outdoor activity. At the beginning of July, 66 pupils came to the Weidendom National Park Adventure Centre and were able to get to know the fauna and flora of the national park in small groups and become explorers themselves. Of course, there was no shortage of fun and games, and at the end each child was allowed to take home a self-made Fluffi mask.
June 2023
CO-OPERATION ORTWEINSCHULE GRAZ & GRAWE
Pupils from the Ortwein School in Graz drew "self-portraits in the wilderness" last year for the 20th anniversary of the national park. The pictures were digitised this year and used by the GRAWE marketing department for a digital advertising campaign for YOUth FOR NATURE in Graz. We were also able to advertise our team outside of our region!
June 2023
WE ARE ON INSTRAGRAM!
In order to network with other youth organisations and communicate our projects better, we are now on Instagram!
Simply follow:
youthfornature_npg
May 2023
New OUTFIT
YOUth FOR NATURE members can now be recognised by their new T-shirts. All branded with our logo and sustainably produced, of course!
April 2023
Fluffi folder
YOUth FOR NATURE is very proud of the sandpiper folder that was published in spring. As a flagship species, this small wading bird has a special significance in the National Park. After all, it has the largest breeding population in Styria! The folder was designed in a particularly creative way to inform all visitors to the national park about this rare bird. The course of the year in the life of a sandpiper was depicted as a comic.
The free folder is available at the National Park information centres.
March 2023
restructuring
The "Jugendbeirat" starts 2023 with many new projects, new members and some changes. One major change concerns our name. Together it was decided to set "YOUth FOR NATURE" as the new name. This will also be reflected in our new logo in the future. YOUth FOR NATURE thus replaces the former "Jugendbeirat" of the Gesäuse National Park.
Stacking stones
Due to the Corona pandemic, many children have been unable to participate in any or few outdoor events over the past two years. For the most part, gym classes or participation in sporting events was also not possible. In discussions with educators, the lack of physical activity among children during the Corona pandemic was a recurring theme. The Youth Advisory Council decided to address this issue and to help the partner kindergarten and the partner elementary school in Admont with exercise-promoting teaching materials.
Interesting facts from the world of ticks
Tick monitoring
At the end of October 2020, the first tick monitoring in the Gesäuse National Park was launched and supported by the Youth Advisory Council. For this, 9 sites at different altitudes and exposures were sampled for ticks. In total, 197 passes were made and 422 ticks were collected. In addition, data on weather, time of day, temperature, and humidity were collected at ground level and at 130 cm. The sampling was carried out by interns and rangers of the National Park and ended in October 2021. The ticks were then sent to AGES for determination. In addition, the distribution of tick species related to season and altitude will be evaluated.
Nature education in a playful way
coloring-book of endemic species
Already in 2017 to 2019, a project on photography and identification of endemic insects and arachnids was supported by the GRAWE sidebyside Youth Advisory Council. This year, the focus was on the creative implementation and communication of the topic "endemics". The result is a coloring book with endemic species from the Gesäuse, enriched with little knowledge bites. Each species is presented with an ability that distinguishes it from others. The coloring book is intended to serve as a tool for nature and environmental education staff when teaching children about nature.
A children's book from pictures of photo traps
The whole forest is looking for Therehsa
With this book, the photos of the photo traps that are set up in the Gesäuse National Park should no longer remain closed to children and parents. The photo traps help to find out how the animals of our forest behave when they feel unobserved. With the story "The whole forest is looking for TheREHsa", the theme of safety is brought to the fore and the book also aims to raise awareness of environmental protection. The book is available at the Infobüro Admont.
the little crawling
The winning pictures were awarded prizes at the Lichtbildgipfel Gesäuse on April 26, 2018. Our jury was very impressed by the quality of the pictures and the passion of the nature photographers.
We are grateful for our sponsor GRAWE sidebyside, who supported us in the competition and also participated in the judging of the pictures. We would like to thank Olympus, Dachstein and Gesäuse National Park for providing the material prizes. A big thank you also goes to all the photographers and specialists who took part in the identification of the submitted animals!
lynx monitoring
For several years now, lynx from the neighbouring Kalkalpen National Park have been regularly spotted in Gesäuse National Park. The presence of the cat is confirmed by means of photo traps and individual specimen have even been identified. Besides these shy felines, other animals are also captured on photos. It remains to be seen which pictures will be taken there.
Service of the youth advisory board: Financing of 3 cameras. Development of a children's story with the pictures of animal from the photo traps.
Gesäuse National Park Podcast
Since 2018 the broadcasts of the National Park Radio are not only available online(Cultural Broadcasting Archive)but also as podcasts on various channels. Spotify, YouTube and Soundcloud .
Service of the Youth Advisory Council: Editing broadcasts and podcasts.
biotope maintenance
In the summer of 2017, the Youth Advisory Council organized a campaign on neophyte management.
Young people from the Admont Refugee Home assisted in repressing invasive species for one day.
We’d like to thank the partner companies Gesäuse Perle and Hallerbäck for the donations as well as the market town of Admont with former Mayor Hermann Watzl.
Service of the youth advisory council: organization, payment of the auxiliary staff, press work.
Sponsors
We would like to thank GRAWE sidebyside for the generous support of the project.
