Biodiversity Outdoor Learning

The European Commission states: "The loss of biodiversity has accelerated to an unprecedented level in Europe and worldwide. It has been estimated that the current global extinction rate is 100 to 1000 times higher than the natural rate. In Europe, some 42% of European mammals are endangered, together with 15% of birds and 45% of butterflies and reptiles." Consequentially, there is an increasing need for people to understand the issues and opportunities in the field of biodiversity and biodiversity protection. At the same time, there is growing body of evidence that shows that presenting people with facts and figures about environmental problems, including biodiversity degradation, does not lead to actions that minimise these problems. In this project, we wanted to design and implement methodologies that, while having a focus on scientific facts and the scientific consensus on biodiversity and biodiversity protection, presented information in a fun way that more people might find interesting. We wanted to include options to take action and protect biodiversity at the local level in a direct way, but also indirectly at the regional, national, European, and international levels.

This project aims at educating adults from the target groups into the importance of global biodiversity but also the local biodiversity of where the partners are based and how to protect it directly at the local level and indirectly at the national, European, and international levels. Protecting biodiversity is a key aspect of protecting the environment (Priority #1), and climate change has a major role in biodiversity degradation, even more so on the biodiversity of islands, where the coordinator of this project is located. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment concluded that "the main drivers of island biodiversity loss would either continue or increase rapidly." It projected that the impacts of climate change "will become increasingly severe." The project also follows the European Union's approach to protecting biodiversity. The EU has drafted the "Biodiversity Strategy for 2030" pledging "to create a network of well-managed protected areas comprising at least 30% of EU's land and sea area." We believe that Common Values, Civic Engagement, and Participation have a significant role to play when protecting biodiversity (Priority #2) at the small-scale and local level.

To learn about biodiversity and what opportunities there are for participants to protect at the local level, this project created two distinctive methodologies: Natural History Walks (NHWs) and Treasure Hunts (THs). Through the NHWs, participants had an opportunity to learn about the local ecosystem, including its flora and fauna, whether local species are indigenous, and the characteristics of the local climate and how it impacts its biodiversity. The THs allowed participants to learn about these issues through a more informal approach. Participants of the THs could explore biodiversity topics linked to the places where the partners are based independently through the use of their smart phoen and the online tool "Action Bound" which shows different locations and information, games, or quizzes linked to that location. The implementation of the NHWs and the THs were the main activities of the project (Activity 4). The project also included an initial documentation of biodiversity (Activity 1), the design of the NHWs (Activity 2) and THs (Activity 3) in each partner country, one training in Spain (Activity 5), and two Transnational Project Meetings in Portugal and North Macedonia (Activities 6 and 7).

The project had the following outputs: - One research document, "Documentation of Biodiversity". It is accessible at the project website: https://biodiversity-learning.eu/why-biodiversity-matters/ It was researched by the three partners with leadership from Spain and professionally edited and formatted. - One Natural History Walk design plan for each partner country. - One Treasure Hunt design for each partner country. - One Teaching, Training, and Learning Activity took place in Spain with a total of 8 participants. - The implementation of the NHWs and THs in Portugal, Spain, and North Macedonia with an aim of signing 10 participants in each group. At the end of the project, 43 people joined in North Macedonia, and 61 people joined in Portugal, a 52% increase against the original target. - Two Transnational Project Meetings in Portugal, and North Macedonia with a total of 12 participants. The project also resulted in the teaching of topics related to biodiversity and biodiversity protection locally in the three participating countries, but also nationally and at the European and international levels thanks to the project's associated partners.