all Partners assembled again

More than 30 participants from all project partners from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Romania, Ukraine and Hungary came together from 10 th to 13 th of December. We had some really intensive, exhausting but wonderful and fruitful days, with the workshop located in the Zagreb Zoo. So we were not only experiencing croatian #forest management in Park #Maksimir in the city and in Park forest #Grmošćica located in the western part of Zagreb, but also we enjoyed a thrilling guided tour through the Zagreb Zoo.

On Monday evening after arrival all participants from the seven Partner cities were invited to have a guided tour through Zagreb old town. We were all honestly impressed by the big and romantic christmas market, where there are lights all of over the old town. We learned about the history of the Zagreb cathedral, about a holy painting that miraculously survived a devastating fire (and is still worshipped today) and we learned, that in Zagreb there are still partly old gas laterns taken care of and in use.

See more pictures from Zagreb on our Facebook-Page:

Looking back and forward

Tuesday started with a warm welcome from the city of Zagreb and the Zagreb Zoo. All participants were introduced to the now established virtual office by our leading partner, Luka Sešel from the city of Ljubljana (picture), before we were all together looking back, what we achieved in period 1. Which is quite a lot: In every partner cities there have been held workshops including stakeholders and users of the urban forest to discuss the right measures in the focus areas. Questionnaires were created and published online or distributed in the field. Subsequently our leading Partner, city of Ljubljana, gave an outlook on activities for Period 2 and lead the discussion on methodologies, steps and tools. Then we split and did some formally acts in the Steering Commitee.

Scientific data and expert input

On Wednesday Silvija Krajter Ostoic from Croatian Forest Research Institute (picture) presented interesting scientific data on urban forest management, followed by expert input from the City of Ljubljana and the Slowenian Forest Institue. That was a real long day with a lot of valuable input and a learning curve for everybody, we can really be proud of.

Parallel workshops and a field trip

The next day started with two parallel workshops: One on communication and storytelling held by the city of Vienna, and one on self-evaluation monitoring held by the city of Ljubljana. Followed up by the field trip to Park forest Grmošćica: The City of Zagreb and the Croatian Forests Ltd. there work jointly on the project. Grmošćica is located in the western part of Zagreb, surrounded by settlements. It has an important role as a natural habitat for the wildlife but is also essential for the citizens of Zagreb as a meeting point in their free time for recreation and relaxation in nature. The URBforDAN project will enhance the Grmošćica area by adding new elements that will improve the use of this urban forest.

Looking forward to Belgrade!

Now we are already looking forward to our next partner meeting in Belgrade in April! :)

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The URBforDAN team wishes you all a merry Christmas, some relaxing holidays and all the best for 2019!