TEAM#UP encourages both, students and practitioners

On Thursday 22 August, the workshop Regional seed mixtures in ecological restoration took place in Benešov and also in the nearby Konopiště Castle Park. We organized the workshop within the TEAM#UP project for multiple reasons:

1. to encourage the students of our partner school, Agricultural College and Agricultural Secondary School Benešov, to participate in the student projects and student exchanges of the TEAM#UP project.

2. to encourage practitioners to take part in our survey mapping the national network in ecological restoration and to actively participate in this network.

3. to collect seed biomass for the establishment of a demonstration site in the Agricultural College and Agricultural Secondary School Benešov, where their students will then have the opportunity to work on their student projects.

4. to make the TEAM#UP project more visible.

In the first part of the workshop, Kamila Vítovcová introduced the issue of regional seed mixtures more broadly, followed by three interesting lectures on practical experience with the production of regional seed mixtures and the establishment of flowering stands using these mixtures in Šumava (Jakub Horomas), Prague (Michal Kubelík), and the surroundings of Prague (Pavel Jeřábek). The discussion on each presentation was rich and it is evident that this topic is very important and actual. 

In the afternoon part of the workshop, we moved to the Konopiště Castle Park, where species-rich stands suitable for seed brushing were selected. There were four machines presented for seed harvesting: hand-guided Grass Graber and a hand-held harvester, both operated by the Czech Union for Nature Conservation Šumava, hand-guided Seed Monster from Prague, and a snow blower converted into a brush harvester. 

The feedback from the participants on site was positive, which makes us very happy. 

#TeamUp2Restore

Photos: Jakub Hromas, Anna Müllerová, Kamila Vítovcová, Lenka Šebelíková

The role of education and training in support of the Nature Restoration Law

On August 18, 2024, the Nature Restoration Law came into effect and with it, much needed hope for European communities.

The European Nature Restoration Law, as part of the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, includes developing National Restoration Plans in EU Member States. However, to implement these plans on a national-scale, there is a need for a more thorough integration of ecological restoration methods in school curricula and training courses in order to provide students and professionals with the green skills necessary to transition to a sustainable and more-climate resilient society.

For this reason, the European Commission has been encouraging and supporting Member States to modernize Vocational Education and Training (VET) and continuing education programs.The Erasmus+ funded project TEAM#UP, a partnership of 15 institutions from five European countries, is a great example of this process. It aims to provide educational material on ecological restoration and make these available on an open educational resource platform. Working with diverse partners from VET schools, universities, and the private sector across Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, and Spain, TEAM#UP aids in facilitating the skills development and training necessary for upscaling ecological restoration practices across Europe.

Get to know us and learn more about our project at www.teamup2restore.eu

Funded by the European Union. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA is responsible for the views expressed.

Second newsletter of the TEAM#UP project

The TEAM#UP project has recently completed its first year. We have decided to celebrate this anniversary by publishing our second newsletter, where you can read about our progress and, if you are interested, subscribe to other newsletters. Because this is just the beginning!

#TeamUp2Restore

 

Insights from ecological restoration at the Aggregates Europe conference

In June, Klára Řehounková participated as an invited speaker at the Aggregates Europe - UEPG conference in Belgium, this year focused on new trends in biodiversity support in mining areas. In a session focused on scientific knowledge and its application in practice, Klára had the opportunity to reach managers of large European mining companies. During the informal discussions, there was a lot of talk about the newly approved Nature Restoration Law.

The programme also included an excursion to a quarry. As the photos show, sometimes you just have to wait a few decades and nature will find its way even to places that may seem very inhospitable at the beginning.

Hundred shades of green roofs

A new project funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic has been recently launched in cooperation with entomologists. The project is aimed at assessing the impact of green roofs on biodiversity in cities. The project brings together experts from both disciplines to monitor the presence of plants and insects on green roofs. The project aims to find out which species of plants and insects are able to get on the roofs, how the roofs are evolving, and what impact they have on local ecosystems. The first phase of data collection started last week in České Budějovice. We expect interesting results that could contribute to a better understanding of the ecological functions of green roofs in urban environments.

This project is supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.

Workshop Regional seed mixtures - new insights and future perspectives

This week, a workshop focused on meadow restoration using regional seed mixtures was held in the White Carpathians. Together with our Norwegian colleagues, we had the opportunity to see many interesting sites with examples of good practice. Wednesday morning was devoted to a summary of the finishing project Regional seed mixtures as an effective tool for the conservation of grassland habitat diversity. We shared the newly gained experience and preliminary results and presented future perspectives. In return, our Norwegian colleagues presented their knowledge of the management of restored grasslands.

A big thank you belongs to the organizers of the workshop Czech Union for Nature Conservation Bílé Karpaty. Other partners of the project are Agrostis Trávníky s.r.o., Department of Botany and Zoology MUNI, Czech Union for Nature Conservation, and Czech Union for Nature Conservation Vlašim.

The project is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Norwegian funds.

European Nature Restoration Law

If you are wondering why the European Union should adopt the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), read this report written by the Legal Working Group of the European Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration.

Urban ecology and regional seed mixtures at secondary school

Our partner school, Agricultural College and Agricultural Secondary School Benešov, invited us to give a lecture to their students about near-natural maintenance of the urban greenery and also about regional seed mixtures. Both topics will be incorporated into the developing educational materials materials within the TEAM#UP project. About 25 students from several different study programs listened to the lectures given by Klára and Kamča. We thank you for the invitation and we hope that the students enjoyed our talks.

#Teamup2Restore


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