Local youth – the voice for a sustainable promotion of the „Orheiul Vechi” cultural-natural Reserve

26/02/2018

The „Orheiul Vechi” cultural-natural reserve, the project implementation area, is one of the most important protected areas in the Republic of Moldova. Being rich in archaeological, cultural and natural objectives, it is especially attractive for the many tourists who come here in order to experience the rural, cultural and spiritual life of Moldovan people. Unfortunately, the huge potential of this reservation is only partially known due to the lack of information about the reserve and the limited capacity of the local communities to promote their heritage. Due to this fact, the project called “Local youth – the voice for a sustainable promotion of the „Orheiul Vechi” cultural-natural Reserve” aims to offer local young people a way to learn more about the local natural heritage and become ambassadors of the „Orheiul Vechi” natural-cultural Reserve. Through this project, the Ecological Movement from Moldova intends to continue the education of young people and to transform them into guides for the community, for the reserve and for its guests.

Implementation period: March-September 2018

Donor: United States Forest Service (USFS)

Budget: 18 540,50 US$ (of which 13 631,00 US$ are the USFS funds and 2634,5 US$ the funds of the Ecological Movement of Moldova and its partners)

The aim of this project is to provide more in-depth knowledge about the importance and value of the sight to young people from the „Orhei Vechi” natural-cultural Reserve and to raise awareness among the local communities in this regard by helping young people become messengers and promoters of the local heritage. The project has set out a series of objectives in order to achieve the goal:

Objective 1: To provide knowledge and build youth’s capacity from the Orheiul Vechi natural-cultural Reserve area for initiative, and active participation in the discovering and promotion of the natural and cultural potential of the area;
Objective 2: Consolidating the links between the teachers from the Orheiul Vechi Reserve area and increasing their opportunities for the applying of experiential learning activities besides their typical indoor classes;
Objective 3: To raise the general public knowledge about the value of the entire protected area both from the cultural and natural sides.

The main activity of the project is to organize a contest for young people from the “Orheiul Vechi” cultural-natural reserve, in which the children from 8 schools will create drawings and write essays as an invitation to visit the most important and significant places in their villages. The result of the contest will in fact be an invitation made by young people from the local community to explore the hidden treasures of the Orhei Vechi Reserve.

In order to organize and carry out the competition fairly, a series of specific activities were planned:

1. Organizing of a round table with teachers of biology/geography/ecological education from the 8 schools located in the area of the Reserve.
2. Organizing field trips at local level.
3. Running of the contest for the creation of artworks to promote the Orheiul Vechi Cultural-Natural Reserve (essays&drawings).
4. Evaluation of the artworks (essay&drawings) and awarding ceremonies.
5. Creation of promotion materials (print press, online press, radio, TV, social media)

Outputs:

Informative materials>

Brochure: „Satul meu – leagăn de poveste” (RO)

Brochure: „My Village - Cradle of Fairy tales” (EN)

Radio:

1. Radio Moldova, “Matinal de weekend” – Interview with Elena Scobioala, project coordinator

2. Radio EcoFM, „Între DA și NU” – Interview with Elena Scobioală, Silvia Ursul and Elena Carțîn

3. Radio EcoFM, „Între DA și NU” – Interview with Elena Scobioală and Viorica Sîrbu

Video:

1. Susleni: Field excursion to the village church

2. Marcăuti: Field trip to the village church and the Nistru River

3. Furceni: Field excursion to the Raven Hill