Brno, Czechia
City population: 384333
Duration: 2014 – 2014
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: 2000 m2
Type of area: Public Greenspace Area
Last updated: October 2021

An educational forest trail was developed by the centre for environmental education organization Lipka as part of the ACT WELLL project partnership between Austria and the Czech Republic (2007-2013). (Ref. 2; Ref. 3). The trail includes eight stops on a two-kilometer circuit, where children and adults can learn about how nature works through games and challenges. (Ref. 2). These elements were created by artists Blanka Ponížilová and Hana Havlíčková (Ref. 1). Three-hour field-trip educational programs are available to kindergarten-aged students, and the trail is also open to the general public (Ref. 9).

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Grey infrastructure featuring greens
  • Institutional green space
  • Parks and urban forests
  • Large urban parks or forests

Key challenges

  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Environmental education
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Enabling opportunities for physical activity
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
  • Employment/job creation

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Knowledge creation and awareness raising

Project objectives

The project: 1. Has created a forest trail for educational purposes to learn about natural phenomena and processes in the forest through interactive games (Ref. 2; Ref. 3) 1.1 Specific educational outcomes for the formal program include having children be able to: 1.1.1 describe the properties of wood 1.1.2 describe the tracks of at least two forest animals 1.1.3 describe the role of the spruce lichen-eater in nature 1.1.4 describe the body structure and developmental stages of the spruce lichen-eater 1.1.5 explain the difference between protective and warning coloring 2. Will continue utilizing the educational programming developed by through the ACT WELLL! (Ref. 11) partnership (which ended in 2013) by offering ongoing field-trips and public visits to the trail (Ref. 10).

Implementation activities

- To develop the NBS, artists Blanka Ponížilová and Hana Havlíčková created the educational elements (Ref. 2), and educational programming was developed through the ACT WELLL! partnership (Ref. 11). - Each stop on the trail includes educational signposts and educational game elements that lead to learning about nature. These unique activities are as diverse as using a wooden dendrophon to make music, to testing the power of a natural stream (Ref. 2, Ref. 5, Ref. 7, Ref. 13). - The nature trail is suitable for children and adults. It is also freely accessible to the public, and easy to reach by bus. It is also walkable with a stroller/pram (Ref. 13, Ref. 14). - There is also a programme for school children where teachers take them along the trail and do the games with them. (Ref. 2; Ref. 3; Ref. 4)

Main beneficiaries

  • Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • EU body
  • National government
  • Public sector institution

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Citizen science

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

Lipka is funded by the South Moravian Region, the Ministry of Education, the city of Brno, and by EU and EEA grants. The forest trail activity is organised by Lipka as part of the ACT WELLL programme, which is an initiative of the cross-border partnership Czech Republic 2007-2013. The partnership consists of Austrian and Czech environmental education organizations and is funded by the EU and the Austrian Government. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 5). The trail was partially funded by the Czech Government. (Ref. 1; Ref. 5) Funding was provided for the intervention by the ERDF, and partially by the Austrian Government, who fund the ACT WELLL programme (Ref. 1; Ref. 5)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Yes (The intervention was funded by the ERDF (Ref. 1; Ref. 5). The trail was funded by the ERDF 2007 - 2013, prior to its opening in 2014, which means it was influenced by the European Commission's Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the European Regional Development Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1783/1999 (Ref. 4; Ref. 6).)
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

  • EU funds
  • Public national budget

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget
  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Unknown

Economic impacts

  • Generation of income from NBS
  • Other

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Improvement in people’s connection to nature
  • Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
  • Increased appreciation for natural spaces
  • Education
  • Increased support for education and scientific research
  • Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
  • Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
  • Other

Type of reported impacts

Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

Ref. 1. Lipka (2015). Annual Report 2015. [online] [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020].
Ref. 2. Lipka (No Date). LESNÍ NAUČNÁ STEZKA. [online] [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020].
Ref. 3. Křenovská, I. (2014). LES JAKO ŽIVOTNÍ PROSTOR. [pdf] [Unavailable online in 2020].
Ref. 4. Lipka (2014). LIPKA OTEVŘE NOVOU INTERAKTIVNÍ LESNÍ STEZKU. [pdf] [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020].
Ref. 5. ACT WELLL! (2017). STARTSEITE. [online] [Unavailable online in 2020].
Ref. 6. EUR-Lex (2006). Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the European Regional Development Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1783/1999. [online]. [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020].
Ref. 7. Kužel, V. (2014). Lesní naučná stezka Soběšice. [online]. [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020]
Ref. 8. Geocaching (2014). Lesni naucna stezka U jezirka. [online] [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020]
Ref. 9. Lipka. (No Date). Forest Educational Trail for Kindergartens – Field Program. [online]. [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020].
Ref. 10. Lipka. (No Date). Lipka 2018 Annual Report. [online]. [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020]
Ref. 11. Lipka. (No Date). ACT WELLL!. [online]. [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020).
Ref. 13. Coteese (2020). Forest educational trail near Soběšice. [online]. [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020].
Ref 14. Source link (2018). U jezirka – Forest nature trail with an observatory. [online]. [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020].
Ref 15. Source link (No Date). Forest educational trail U Jerzirka (district Brno-venkov). [online]. [Available at: Source link. [Accessed on July 27 2020].