Information on past European Day of Parks
European Day of Parks 2011: Volunteering—Nature Needs You
2011 is the European Year of Volunteers. With this event the European Union is, quite rightly, recognising how essential volunteers are to our society. A study from the European Volunteer Centre has established that volunteers represent the equivalent of 3-5% of the economically active population in many countries; they make a $400 billion contribution to the global economy; the number of full-time equivalent volunteers is approximately 140 million people; and if volunteers were a nation, they would be the 9th most populous country in the world.
The theme of the European Day of Parks 2011 takes this opportunity to promote the great work millions of volunteers do in protected areas around Europe every year: ‘Volunteering—Nature Needs You’, 'Volontariat - La nature a besoin de vous', 'Freiwillige vor – die Natur braucht Sie'.
One of the societal sectors that profits the most from volunteering is nature protection. Green volunteers do an amazing job looking after our natural treasures and deserve recognition for their efforts. In 2011 national parks and other protected natural areas put on events for the European Day of Parks which promoted the work volunteers do in protected areas around Europe every year. Over 500 events were registered by 185 protected areas in 17 countries. See the calendar of events and examples of the events from different parks opposite for more information.
In 2011 we also got together with the organisers of Earth Day to create more publicity. Every event that our members organised under the European Day of Parks contributed to the Earth Day celebrations and be publicised globally on their website. With our events we are joining their campaign “A Billion Acts of Green”. At over 40 million actions to date, the largest environmental service campaign in the world inspires and rewards simple individual acts and larger organisational initiatives that further the goal of measurably reducing carbon emissions and supporting sustainability. The goal is to register one billion actions in advance of the global Earth Summit in Rio in 2012.
Furthermore, the EUROPARC staff also got involved in the Day of Parks this year. We volunteered for the day - getting our hands dirty at the Altmühltal Nature Park near Regensburg. We took part in the project 'Altmühlleiten' and helped remove a number of bushes from an overgrown part of the river valley. Freeing up space around juniper bushes - an important habitat for many creatures.
2010: Europe’s protected areas celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity
Over 180 parks in around 20 European Countries opened their doors to thousands of visitors for the European Day of Parks this year. Over 400 events organised on and around the 25th May celebrated the International Year of Biodiversity with the theme ‘Biodiversity and People: Space for Nature?’ . A calendar of the events registered with EUROPARC can be downloaded below.
Walks, excursions, exhibitions and more will be held by protected areas from Finland to Spain and from the United Kingdom to Serbia. They highlighted the significant role that protected areas play in protecting an abundance of creatures across the continent.
EUROPARC Director, Carol Ritchie, encouraged locals and tourists alike to take part in the events: “This is a great opportunity to learn more about these beautiful places, the flora and fauna they support and their importance for mankind”, so Ritchie, “The events are also a good reason to flee the city for a day and are a fun way for the whole family to explore the great outdoors”. This year many parks also marked the International Day of Biodiversity which occurred two days beforehand.
As well as the diversity of press releases produced by each participating park in their regions and nationally the event was also mentioned on BBC Radio two this year. Next year we hope for even more publicity and of course that even more protected areas participate.
To encourage more of our members to participate in this occasion next year we have decided to publish a few perspectives on the European Day of Parks from protected areas who took part this year. Below you can read reports from the Carpathian Day of Parks, Pallas Yllästunturi National Park (FI) and Plitvice Lakes National Park (HR).
2009: "Youth - the future of our parks"
2009 was a landmark year for European national parks: On 24th May 1909 the first nine were founded in Sweden, Abisko, Ängso, Garphyttan, Gotska Sandön, Hamra, Pieljekaise, Sarek, Stora Sjöfallet and Sanfjället, paving the way for the around 300 national parks that exist across Europe today.
This year’s activities were organised around the theme "Youth - the future of our parks", which encouraged visitors to look to the next 100 years of these iconic places. Young people from all over Europe were involved in activities that celebrate and conserve Europe’s valuable natural and cultural heritage. Many parks also organised events based on the anniversary itself.
This year around 120 events were organized in in over 80 protected areas in 20 countries across Europe. Thousands of Europeans visited the exhibitions, guided tours, games, festivals and many more activities taking place in protected areas from Iceland to Romania
A calendar with events that our members are organised is available to download below.
2008: 'Nature - bridging borders'
In 2008 over 600 events were organised by protected areas, government authorities and non-governmental organisations in 20 European countries to mark the occasion on and around 24 May. The theme was 'Nature - bridging borders'.
