The first ALPARC workshop on mountain environmental education in the Alpine protected areas will be held on 19 and 20 October 2010 at Zernez in the Swiss National Park. The workshop has been organised in conjunction with REEMA (Alpine Mountain Environment Education Network) and will mark the beginning of the 7th ALPARC General Assembly in 2010, which will be held in the same location from 20th to 23rd October.

Following on from the initial successful collaboration between REEMA and ALPARC, the remit of ALPARC's Joint Communication working group was expanded to include environmental education in 2009. The result was the first joint project, a survey of innovative approaches in the Alpine protected areas.

The aim of the meeting is to compare different local approaches to educating visitors and local residents in the Alps. On the afternoon of Tuesday 19 October 2010, environmental education officers from the protected areas will therefore begin their meeting on the subject, which is particularly topical for the Alps at present.

Do you want to attend?

Would you like to meet environmental education officers from other Alpine protected areas? Would you like to learn about the tools they use, their activities, their role within the park and their aims? Are common educational issues relating to mountain culture and the Alpine identity an important factor in your visitor education activities?

Mark the dates in your diary now. We will provide more detailed information about the workshop in the first quarter of 2010. At that time we will also send you a short introductory questionnaire designed to get you thinking about your comments in advance, so as to ensure that everyone gets the most out the workshop.

The workshop will be supplemented by activities organised by the host park (guided tours focused on this theme) and there will also be the option of staying on to attend the ALPARC General Assembly and the thematic conference "Wilderness, wildlife and biodiversity: can we leave the natural world to its own devices?".

Click here to view the factsheet for the Joint communication and environmental education working group. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at marie.stoeckel@alparc.org