Raising awareness and transferring knowledge about the Natural Jewel of the UNESCO 5-country Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube is one of the main goals of the lifelineMDD project, so the partners from Austria RMSO presented their national training called “Regional Expert of Biosphere Reserve Lower-Mura-Valley“, which lasted from March 29 to 31. It’s all about providing information, imparting knowledge to citizens, educators, actors from the region – simply to all people who live and work within the biosphere reserve.

The aim of the course was to communicate in an interactive way all the existing knowledge on the UNESCO 5-countryBiosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube, in particular for the Lower-Mura-Valley as part of it, and thus to train multipliers for this special natural jewel in the region of Southeast Styria.

On three so-called “presence days”, each morning interesting specialist lectures were held to convey interesting facts about the biosphere reserve and its part in Austria. Outdoor activities took place directly on site in the Biosphere-Reserve Lower-Mura-Valley and in the municipalities Halbenrain, Bad Radkersburg, and Mureck. Participants enjoyed a boat trip on the Mur River with the watermaster of the water management body, alongside a visit to the revitalization area and the wall meadows, a bird-watching, and more.

Gabriele Grandl led two“meeting afternoons” to particularly interesting places in the Biosphere Reserve Lower-Mura-Valley and shed light on the tourist opportunities for the region. In between five days, the participants had the opportunity to do online courses and explore the Biosphere Reserve Lower-Mura-Valley on their own.

Photo: B. Lamprecht