Education and interpretation in the Nature Park Medvednica

Visitor infrastructures (pathways) were developed since 19th century and complemented by PI NPM through promotion (brochures, souvenirs), infrastructure (medieval castle, cave, medieval mine, 7 education paths, info point, 2 geological columns), edu-programmes, awareness raising, cultural and sport manifestations, guided and interpretative tours. Continuous growth of visits to Zagreb and the establishment of Stakeholders’ Forum of the Park resulted in the creation of new programmes for visitors.

Due to a lack of functional infrastructure and an adequately equipped indoor space, more serious and intensive actions on the development of new educational programmes related to the school curriculum could not be undertaken. Although visitor infrastructure is well branched there is still missing one centralised multi-functional point where interpreted information about the Park could be adequately presented in an innovative way to a wide spectrum of visitors.

The Park was recently equipped with new ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) solutions for the purpose of visitor education and information (mobile application “Parks of Croatia”). Likewise, e-bike tours and volunteer programmes have been initiated and visitor structure and satisfaction surveys are conducted regularly. This will complement the services of Visitor Center Medvedgrad, a soon to be established single multi-functional point for the presentation of Park´s values and a central spot for all visitors.

The Visitor Centre will offer modern museum exhibits for educating visitors about natural, historical and cultural characteristics of the area. The project will start with refurbishing of the old medieval castle Medvedgrad. Following, internal and external equipping will be set, together with the development of new education programmes, new services and activities for tourists and a new strategy for visitors management. The later will enhance the capacities of the Park administration to control and mitigate tourism pressures on the natural and cultural resources of the area.

Integral approach to the projects inside the Park is ensured through collaboration with various partners from the local community: public institutions (ministry, agencies, local government) and other institutions, all included in the Stakeholders Forum, an important communication tool. In the preparation phase of the Visitor Centre, national and local authorities were involved in order to assist with the resolution of certain legal issues. Likewise, other stakeholders were involved in the process of developing new services and activities for tourists.

The Visitor Centre will guarantee the provision of an indoor space for the implementation of new developed education programmes and for maintaining the existing ones. When no such space existed, several programmes were cancelled due to the lack of a dedicated place to run them.  It will also be a place to host the Stakeholders Forum meetings, for planning future developments and for collaborations.

Furthermore, This project will ensure the creation of new tourist services and activities, as well as improve the capacity of the park for sustainable management, awareness raising about nature values and supporting the development of the tourism potential inside the Park and its surrounding areas.

The main challenges faced during the preparation of the Visitor Centre were:

• The conservation of nature itself.
• Since the medieval castle is a protected cultural heritage, it was needed to obtain legal permits for its reconstruction.
• Discussions with stakeholders were regularly held in order to timely resolve possible issues and requests.

• Continuous communication with various stakeholders is crucial for efficient adaptation of the protected area to a modern society needs and visitors demand, which include an efficient management and timely response to challenges and pressures.
• Stakeholders should be actively involved in the management process, firstly in research, monitoring and tourism interpretation.
• Stakeholders’ common efforts will contribute to integral actions that all parties can benefit from.