Every year, the EUROPARC Federation, with the support of the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung, awards three scholarships to young professionals working in Protected Areas.

Meet the Alfred Toepfer Scholarship Winner 2022

The Alfred Toepfer Natural Heritage Scholarship grants 3000 euros to its winners. They can spend this money to travel to other Protected Areas and learn from their experience. Here, we introduce the 3 winners of 2022 and their travel plans:

Margaux Pierrel

Margaux Pierrel – Studying Shifting Baseline Syndrome

Margaux works as a Conservation Ranger for the National Parks and Wildlife Service in Ireland. As part of her responsibilities, she monitors Natura 2000 sites, enforces the national and European wildlife and habitat legislation and engages with the community. Margaux has a strong interest in the concept of “shifting baseline syndrome” (SBS), also referred to as “environmental generational amnesia”. SBS is the situation in which over time, knowledge, or memory is lost about the state of the natural world, because people don’t perceive changes that are taking place. Her scholarship project is to study the effects SBS has on conservation measures in Protected Areas, particularly in terms of species loss, land use changes and rewilding. She aims at visiting places in the UK, the Netherlands, France, and Bulgaria that are aware of these challenges, in order to raise awareness and find solutions.

Caitlin Cunningham – How can we create nature-friendly green energy?

Caitlin Cunningham

Caitlin works wok as a Marine Sustainability Adviser for NatureScot. Her job involves coordinating environmental advice for offshore wind and marine renewable proposals in Scotland, considering impacts to our seas and marine life. In her role, she is directly involved in helping to tackle the climate emergency through the development of renewable energy, whilst also balancing the conservation of biodiversity through minimising environmental impacts. During her study visit to the Netherlands, Caitlin will learn from marine and coastal renewable energy developments that impact protected sites, as well as the mitigation in place to protect biodiversity. She aims to broaden her understanding of different approaches to sustainable development, and record any lessons learnt that can be applied across the marine renewable energy sector. Caitlin states: “I’m delighted to receive one of the Alfred Toepfer Scholarships and look forward to sharing my findings with the wider environmental community”.

Espen Quinto-Ashman – How are managing practices supporting ecosystems?

Espen Quinto-Ashman

Espen works as the Bird Ringer in charge at Ottenby Bird Observatory. Here, he leads a team of up to 20 volunteers in the daily standardised ringing activities and other biological inventories on the reserve. During his study visits, Espen aims to visit three Protected Areas: Bialowieza National Park and Biebrza National Park in Poland and Maramures National Park in Romania. These areas encompass an array of habitats which are comparable to those that can be found at Ottenby, albeit on a much larger scale. The habitats he is most interested in studying are: deciduous forest, marshes and meadow pastures. Espen will study how the management practices in the different parks are suited to the different ecosystems and how well they fulfil their job of protecting biodiversity as well as the key threats to nature in these places. There, he is particularly interested in how the presence of different species of large herbivores and carnivores, as well as the local hydrology, can affect the health of the habitats.

EUROPARC congratulates the three winners and looks forward to their reports! You can learn more about previous winners of the Scholarship here.

The Alfred Toepfer Scholarship is made possible through the generous support of the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung.

Reducing tourism seasonality through sustainable experiences

• 25th of October
• 10:00 CEST, duration: one hour
  
• Register for free here

Crowded summer days and empty winters: in many areas, tourism has high peaks in summer, whereas autumn and winter are less popular travel seasons. These fluctuations can pose a real challenge for small businesses and destination managers. At the same time, the high concentration of tourists during the summer months, can be a cause of concern for those managing Protected Areas, as they struggle to accommodate large fluxes of tourists sustainably.

In this webinar, participants will hear from Dr Xavier Font, professor of Sustainability Marketing at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom. He will detail the six steps that small businesses and destination managers can undertake to design and market sustainable experiences. Participants will also discover, how their destination, industry association or consultancy company can use the free-of-charge materials prepared by the EU Interreg funded “EXPERIENCE” project. These materials will support those attending in delivering training in their destination, and includes a 67-page report and a set of PowerPoint slides, in English and French.

Webinar Programme

Welcome and Introductions
Teresa Pastor, ECST Manager at EUROPARC Federation.

Creating sustainable experiences
Dr. Xavier Font.

Let’s talk about it!
Participants will have the chance to pose questions.

The webinar will last approx. 1 hour.

About the speaker

Dr Xavier Font is professor of Sustainability Marketing at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom. He researches and develops methods of sustainable tourism production and consumption. He has published widely about sustainable tourism certification, and has consulted on sustainable product development, marketing and communication. He currently serves as an advisor in Prince Harry’s Travalyst coalition of Booking.com, Tripadvisor, Google, Expedia, Skyscanner, Visa and Trip. Furthermore, he has conducted over 150 courses for more than 5,000 businesses on how to market and communicate sustainability. He is currently the Principal Investigator for the University of Surrey for the €23m Interreg project “EXPERIENCE”, which aims to develop low season sustainable tourism visitor experiences.

Are you ready to be enabled and become more effective, competent and confident Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers?!

Apply now to join LIFE ENABLE and be part of the new European Nature Academy (ENA) courses!

The call for applications is now officially open!

The ENA provides FREE tailor-made training and a series of practical capacity building courses for nature’s managers! 

Applications are open until the 4th of November. Courses start in February 2023!

DON’T miss your chance to gain skills, apply your learning, broaden your network and build the competencies you need to be more effective Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers!

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About the LIFE ENABLE project

LIFE ENABLE

Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers work in a wide variety of roles, in multidisciplinary settings. Where you work is likely to be dynamic, constantly evolving and complex. You routinely face challenges and opportunities in your daily work, which require you to apply a special mix of knowledge, skills and attitudes. In almost all cases, as well as technical conservation skills, you need to work inclusively, in cooperation with local communities and other organisations, and be able to communicate what you are doing and why. The management choices you make and the ways in which you work are critical to achieving progress towards your objectives for nature.

LIFE ENABLE is designed to meet Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers’ training needs. It is creating the new European Nature Academy to provide tailor-made training and support your professional development. 

The goal is to contribute to ensuring progress towards the realisation of the objectives and ambitions of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and underpinning policies. To achieve this, the European Nature Academy’s cost-free training courses focus on the competencies required to manage Natura 2000 and Protected Areas more effectively.

Who should apply?

At this stage, we are looking for 60 individuals working currently in Protected Areas across Europe. Once selected, you will form the European Nature Academy’s core participants.

The courses focus on management of forest and marine ecosystems in particular, so we are giving priority to managers of these habitat types, especially in Natura 2000 sites. However, even if these habitats form only part of your Natura 2000 site or Protected Area, the courses will still be relevant to you. When you apply, simply let us know which habitat type is of more interest to you – either forest or marine, but you can’t pick both!

Courses will focus on Forest and Marine ecosystems

Whatever your area of work, we will welcome your application. People of all ages and backgrounds, working in diverse roles in a Natura 2000 site or Protected Area can apply – for example:

• Managers in either governmental or non- governmental organisations.
• People working in national, regional or natural parks (which also include Natura 2000 sites), for example Rangers.
• Individuals working for a local authority or public administration with responsibilities for nature conservation and protection.
• Individuals working as a specialist ecologist or in nature conservation policy.
• People working with local communities – for example, as environmental educators, communication specialists, volunteer or visitor managers, or individuals with responsibilities for interpretation, nature-based sustainable development, legal advisors, land stewardship etc.
• Private landowners of a Natura 2000 site or other entrepreneurs in a Protected Area – for example, with farming, forestry, fishing or tourism interests.

How the European Nature Academy will work

The new European Nature Academy is a training hub and provides access to a series of practical capacity building courses for nature’s managers. The courses are designed specifically to equip individuals and their organisations with the competencies they require to meet the challenges and opportunities of nature management in the coming decade.

The courses are free!

There is no fee for the training. Also, your travel & subsistence costs to participate in the face-to-face networking events will be reimbursed and covered by the project.

Don’t miss your chance to learn with European Nature Academy

Delivered in a series of online modules and networking events, the emphasis is on applied learning to improve management practices. The competence-based courses cover the following subjects:

1. Ways of working for Natura 2000 & Protected Areas across Europe

This course focuses on the core skills, knowledge & attitudes you need in your daily work. It ‘kicks-off’ with a face-to-face Induction Seminar as a prelude to 10 online modules which cover:

• European policies & priorities for nature
• Tools for participative and inclusive governance
• Design of communication strategies, tools, techniques and approaches
• Management planning as a technical process for biodiversity conservation & a process for social engagement
• Strategies for engagement, collaborative working, conflict management, resolution & mediation

Where & when?

Induction Seminar: A face-to-face networking event in Schneverdingen, Germany, from 13 to 17 February 2023.

10 online modules starting 13 March to 16 June 2023!

2. Tools for Natura 2000 forest managers OR Tools for Natura 2000 marine managers

These two courses run in parallel in September/ October 2023 – you must choose one! There will be 4 online modules in 4 weeks plus a 4 – 5 days practical workshop for each course. The precise dates for the forest and marine workshops and locations have yet to be confirmed, but they will be announced well in advance.

3. Training for Trainers Course

Being part of the core participant group, there is a further opportunity. In June/ July 2023, you can apply for an additional training course. We will recruit 20 people to ‘Train as Trainers’ of the courses you have followed and completed – you will find out more later!

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All we ask for…

We do not expect you to be ‘full-time’ on the courses – as nature management practitioners, we know you are busy people!

We estimate that on average you will commit to about 5 hours maximum per week to participate – however, the more time you invest, the more you are likely to gain!

In addition, you will need to complete and submit a ‘final assignment’ in your own time over the Summer of 2023. The time you give to doing that, is up to you, but we would expect it to take about 20 to 25 hours maximum.

Also, for the online modules, you must have access to suitable equipment (laptop/ computer, video camera, microphone etc.) plus a strong and reliable internet connection.

Selection process

The ethos of the European Nature Academy is to include rather than exclude. Our priority is to select people from a wide range of backgrounds, with different levels of experience, from many different countries across Europe.

As we want the training to benefit as many people and organisations as possible, in particular we will welcome applications from people in a position to ‘roll-out’ the training. This includes either with your own team or for colleagues working elsewhere in your organisation, but also for people in other organisations with whom you work in partnership, for example through collaboration projects.

This is an international project so we need people with good levels of English.

The application and selection timeline is as follows:

• Completed online applications must be submitted by 4 November 2022. 
• Possible follow-up to request additional information (where necessary) by mid-November – if you don’t hear from us, don’t worry, it’s all good! 
• Our final selection will be completed by early December.
• You will know if you have been selected (or not) before the end of 2022!

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Sharpen your skills with tailor made online courses

What you can gain

The courses are unique and tailor-made – by participating, you can acquire the information, gain knowledge and develop the competencies and you need to work effectively in Natura 2000 and Protected Area management.

All the courses are designed to enable you to apply your learning – all tasks, exercises and assignments are opportunities for you to realise practical benefits in your work.

In addition, selected applicants will have opportunities to:

• Work together with your peers from around Europe and gain new contacts, insights and knowledge about Natura 2000 and Protected Area management.
• Find practical solutions for management challenges.
• Build your own capacity and become familiar with new e-learning tools and the latest training approaches
• Complete a personal Training Needs Assessment (TNA) for the competencies required to improve your management expertise
• At the end of the courses, you will be awarded a certificate of participation.

And finally…

We expect demand for places to be very high.

By applying, you confirm your willingness to sign-up for the full period and participate in all the courses and modules that run from February to October 2023. If you doubt you can commit to that, then please don’t apply as you could potentially deny a place to someone else.

It’s all or nothing – you can’t participate in only some of the modules or courses.

If you are selected, you will be asked to sign a personal statement of commitment and, where possible, obtain an endorsement from your line manager.

All applicants selected must attend two ‘live’ networking events – the Induction Seminar in Schneverdignen (for everyone) and then one forest or one marine workshop (depending on which course you apply for). Only in completely unavoidable or extremely exceptional circumstances would this obligation be waived.

Some learning is ‘fixed in time’ – apart from the face-to-face Seminar and the Forest and Marine workshops, in the online modules, there will be scheduled group sessions and ‘live’ webinars. We expect you to join a minimum of 70% of these online sessions – this is important to network with other participants and for group exercises etc. However, if you really cannot join the scheduled online sessions, you will be expected to watch recordings so you can ‘catch-up’.

All fixed time components of the courses will be announced well in advance to help you to plan ahead.

Opening of applications for the European Nature Academy at the EUROPARC Conference in France

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Our commitment to you

The learning environment will be highly interactive and participatory – we are not teachers, but rather ‘facilitators of learning’!

If you change jobs at any point during the courses, we will try to find a way to help you stay involved!

We will do all we can to secure your active involvement, feedback and ideas. Together with you, we will be able to demonstrate that your work and experience matter and are vitally important for Natura 2000 and Protected Areas!

You can find out more about LIFE ENABLE here!

Connect with us via the App

Connect and learn with LIFE ENABLE smartphone app

Join the community by downloading the LIFE ENABLE smartphone app, which was produced within the LIFE e-Natura2000.edu project!

The app is available on Google Play and App Store! DOWNLOAD IT NOW!

Every year, the EUROPARC Federation, in cooperation with DG ENV organises the Seminar Dialogue. A one-day event in Brussels organised just for EUROPARC members.

By bringing together representatives of the European Commission and Protected Area professionals, EUROPARC wants to highlight the contribution of Protected Areas to the achievement of the European policy goals, whilst giving the European Commission a clear insight into the challenges faced by professionals in the field. After two years online, the Seminar Dialogue 2022 will be in presence again.

The Seminar will count with interventions from EUROPARC members and from the different DGs, who will share the latest policy updates and funding opportunities. EUROPARC and the European Commission DG Environment have set up a programme focused on the following key areas:

• The new Restoration law: the role of, and the impact on, Protected Areas
• Nature Conservation in the Climate change context

The event is for EUROPARC members only. Places are limited, but we look forward to welcoming as many members as possible to Brussels. Participation is free of charge, but registration is mandatory. Register here.

The event will be anticipated by an internal networking meeting only for EUROPARC members, on 8th of November between 16:00 and 18:00 at the EUROPARC Federation Brussels Office.

The programme is available here:

Programme Seminar Dialogue 2022