Multiple areas of collaboration between EUROPARC and ENOS.

EUROPARC at the Euro’Meet – The Conference on Outdoor Sport

The EUROPARC Federation and European Network of Outdoor Sports have built up a good working partnership over the last decade. Evidence of this can be seen in the presence at one another’s Conferences, as well as the development of the 10 Good Principles and a recent Trails Policy Paper. Last year, ENOS was active at the EUROPARC Conference in Lithuania, and this year EUROPARC attended their Euro’Meet Conference in Sweden. The event took place in Sundsvall, Sweden’s Outdoor Recreation Municipality for 2026, from 8- 10 September 2026.

Renewal of the Partnership

A major step taken at the Euro’Meet was a renewal of the commitment to work together for the next five years – a partnership that is successful and fruitful for both the Outdoor Sport sector and the Protected Area sector. A new Partnership Agreement was signed in the closing ceremony!

The collaboration began a decade ago, led by different people in both organisations. Ten years on, with a new EUROPARC Director, Alberto Arroyo Schnell, and the Chair of ENOS, Benjamin Billet, the collaborative spirit remains just as strong, if not stronger. This lasting partnership is made possible by the dedicated teams working together across both organisations.

Multiple meetings over the year resulted in a formal signing of the new Partnership Agreement at the Euro’Meet closing ceremony.

Collaboration between the outdoor recreation sector and Protected Areas is necessary, possible and effective. We learn from and inspire one another, recognise each other’s contributions, and challenge outdated perceptions.

Over the years, this partnership has delivered tangible results: shared principles, joint events, policy papers and projects that build on one another. Initiatives such as CONNECT – Outdoor Sports and Protected Areas are helping identify the key ingredients for successful, long-term cooperation-a partnership we are already proud to exemplify.

Winners of the EUROPARC/ENOS Joint Award

Cheque presentation for the “Nature Park Project of the Year 2024”. Copyright: SCC EVENTS, Naturpark Barnim

The EUROPARC Federation and the ENOS have launched the 2nd edition of a Joint award. This initiative aims to highlight and reward innovative projects that harmonise Outdoor Sports with protecting Europe’s treasured natural landscapes. The joint award has been designed to serve as a recognition of sustainable practices and collaboration, championing efforts that balance the enjoyment of Outdoor Sports with the conservation of natural environments.

The winners of the 2nd edition were announced publicly at the Euro’Meet in Sundsvall, Sweden, on the 10th September.

The 2026 winners were Barnim Nature Park (Germany) and HIKING HERO, an outdoor hiking event organised by SCC EVENTS, who also run the Berlin Marathon every year. The SCC Events team was looking into doing more in the field of sustainability and approached the Barnim Nature Park about possibilities for collaboration. This was how the HIKING HERO event was born; an annual hiking marathon that brings many visitors into the Barnim Nature Park and promotes sustainable hiking.

In addition to this event, SCC Events also contributes €1,000 annually to Barnim Nature Park’s “Project of the Year” competition, which supports and celebrates local initiatives contributing to nature conservation, environmental education and community engagement.

Their partnership reminds us that the future of outdoor sport depends not only on enjoying natural places responsibly, but also on building lasting relationships with the communities and organisations working to protect them.

This collaboration and the mechanisms that have made it possible will be analysed by the CONNECT project in November. Barnim Nature Park is a pilot site of this ERASMUS+Sports project aimed to strengthen relationships between local Outdoor Sports organisations and Protected Areas by identifying key elements for successful cooperation.

Workshop on the CONNECT Project

As part of the CONNECT project, a joint project together with ENOS, IMBA Europe, ERA, Surfrider Europe, Leave no Trace Ireland and Mid-Sweden University, EUROPARC co-led a participatory workshop “Connecting nature protection and outdoor sports – The Connect Project”  at the Euro’Meet. The aim of the workshop was to analyse the different steps needed to move from a shallow collaboration to a deeper one. 

Participants agreed that Outdoor Sports and Protected Areas share one complex ecosystem, and that collaboration benefits both. It brings one voice for awareness-raising, shared norms that avoid conflicts and general bans, access to volunteers and resources, and mutual knowledge. 

Collaboration should start informally and small: build personal relationships, create a safe space without “us and them”, and begin with non-controversial common ground and small mutual objectives. Key barriers identified are a lack of information, the legal framework, funding and the number of stakeholders. One of the ways to overcome some of these is having a neutral mediator to facilitate the initial discussions. 

Long-lasting trust depends on communication, joint projects, clear roles and leadership, and openly recognising power struggles. Examples from Belgium (an MTB federation invited to PA meetings and a state-funded trail specialist) and North Macedonia (MTB users building trails in a national park) show how this works in practice. 

Co-creation requires open minds, respect, shared responsibility and neutral facilitation, though concrete joint actions remain to be defined. Co-governance was seen as ambitious: it raises the question of who holds power, and needs an institutional framework and a stable stakeholders’ forum. The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas was cited as an inspiring model. 

Interested to stay up to date? 

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The collaboration and the CONNECT project with ENOS are funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Strengthening Connectivity and Protected Areas in Europe

EUROPARC joins the Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity (GPEC)

In times when climate change is forcing species to shift their ranges across landscapes and altitudes, ecological connectivity is becoming irreplaceable to support the long-term survival of species and habitats. 

Ecological connectivity, defined by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals as “the unimpeded movement of species, connection of habitats without hindrance and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on earth”, is vital for maintaining healthy ecosystems and to halt biodiversity loss. In Europe, where many landscapes are heavily shaped by human activity, strategic corridors and buffer zones are essential to counteract the effects of habitat fragmentation. 

Connectivity allows wildlife to move for food, shelter and reproduction, thus permitting genetic flows, and to adapt to changing climates, all of which are essential for long-term species survival. Protected Areas serve as key nodes in this ecological network. Without connectivity, even well-managed protected areas can become isolated “islands,” vulnerable to ecological collapse. 

In Europe, the Natura 2000 network is the cornerstone of nature conservation, targeting threatened species and habitat types listed in the Habitats and Birds Directives. Under the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the proposed Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) aims to complement and expand the current Protected Area network, increasing coverage by 2030 to a minimum of 30% of the EU’s land area and 30% of the EU’s sea area. A pan-European analysis conducted by the NaturaConnect project highlights that through a strategic, coordinated approach, expanding Natura 2000 sites by approximately 11% of land could more than double the amount of species and habitats protected (O’Connor et al., under review; Visconti, O’Connor & Beher 2024). Just 5% of additional protection in strategically placed locations can lead to large gains for species and habitats.

Yet, despite the 30×30 target and the urgent need for its implementation, protected area coverage in the European Union remains at around 26%, just 4% away from the goal. However, with small patches dominating the protected area network in Europe, and 75% of Europe’s Natura 2000 sites being smaller than 1km² (Beher, J. and Visconti, P., 2026), expanding coverage is not even enough. Small, isolated patches do not guarantee the functioning of ecological processes, as they don’t support the full range of movement of species or the flow of ecosystem services, such as pollination, water purification, and climate regulation. Ecological resilience requires not just more Protected Areas, but larger, connected landscapes that can sustain both biodiversity and the critical services ecosystems provide to people. 

Image: Results from the NaturaConnect project (2022-2026): Blueprint for the TEN-N: European-wide consensus* priorities for conservation, strict protection and restoration. (Source: O’Conner et al. 2026).
*Consensus priority areas refers to areas that were consistently selected across scenarios and their performance across a range of ecological, structural and socio-economic indicators.

We therefore need to focus on restoring and maintaining key ecological corridors across Europe to ensure our Protected Areas are truly connected; and to secure both the current and the future core habitats of species. 

By anchoring ecological corridors in spatial planning processes and prioritizing them for conservation and restoration efforts, Protected Areas can become more resilient and effective in addressing the double crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. 

To amplify such efforts on a European and global scale, EUROPARC joined the Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity (GPEC) earlier this year. GPEC was launched in 2024 in the framework of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) together with several key international organisations as a multi-stakeholder platform for coordinated action. Together with GPEC, EUROPARC aims to enhance ecological connectivity and to strengthen the European and global network of Protected Areas. Specifically, EUROPARC is committed to:

• Advocate for embedding connectivity in EU and national policies, and to support transboundary coordination.
• Share best practices and facilitate knowledge exchange among the partnership on how to enhance connectivity in and beyond Protected Areas.
• Build partnerships to amplify impact across Europe and globally.

Connectivity is not just about linking landscapes and creating corridors; it’s about linking people, policies, and purpose. EUROPARC joining the GPEC and the fact that so many entities, within and beyond GPEC, are working toward the same goal, gives me hope. With our joint efforts across countries, we can increase connectivity and strengthen our Protected Area network step by step.

Marit Schnepf, Project Manager at EUROPARC for the NaturaConnect project

Do you have a best practice example of connectivity from your park or region that you would like to share? Reach out to us or submit a case study here.

Following a verification visit conducted from August 9 to 11, 2026, verifier Leo Reyrink submitted the first evaluation report assessing the application of RivierPark Maasvallei and the Transboundary UNESCO Man & Biosphere Reserve KempenBroek for the EUROPARC accreditation “Transboundary Parks – Following Nature’s Design”.

Coordinated by the regional Belgian non-profit organisation Regionaal Landschap Kempen en Maasland (RLKM), this initiative connects Protected Areas across the Flemish and Dutch provinces of Limburg and North Brabant. The evaluation highlights decades of structured cooperation designed to restore habitats, manage shared landscapes, and strengthen cross-border regional identity.

Key Operational Highlights & Strengths

The evaluation report assesses the candidate areas across primary and secondary EUROPARC criteria, emphasising several core operational achievements:

1. Harmonised Vision and Governance Structures

• Both nature spaces operate under comprehensive masterplans: the RivierPark Maasvallei Masterplan and the KempenBroek Masterplan 2024–2047.
• Formal cross-border agreements guarantee operational targets and multi-year financing commitments involving state, provincial, and municipal partners across Belgium and the Netherlands.
• Dedicated governance bodies—including transboundary steering committees and specialised working groups—oversee areas such as nature management, sustainable tourism, environmental education, and flood protection.

2. On-the-Ground Ecological Restoration

• Significant wetland restoration projects in KempenBroek have reconnected fragmented habitats, resulting in ecological milestones such as the return of the European tree frog (Hyla arborea).
• Shared management in RivierPark Maasvallei utilises free-roaming cattle and horses to maintain natural riverbank dynamics along the river Meuse.

3. Community Engagement & Sustainable Tourism

• Active volunteer networks and regional ambassador programs (e.g., MaasVerkenners and KempenBroekVerkenners) lead regular educational tours.
• Dedicated visitor facilities—such as Visitor Centre De Wissen in Dilsen-Stokkem, the Kennis- en Information centre Elsloo, and NME De IJzeren Man in Weert—serve as primary educational hubs.
• Cross-border hiking networks, cycling routes, and electric river ferries provide sustainable recreational access across the river border.

Strategic Next Steps: STEC and Council Review

While the verification visit demonstrated strong alignment across primary criteria, secondary criteria, and field-of-work indicators, the formal certification decision remains pending.

The evaluation report and verifier proposals have now been officially submitted for formal review. The next steps in the certification workflow depend on the evaluation and final decision by the EUROPARC Steering and Evaluation Committee (STEC) and the EUROPARC Council.

                        Here is your chance to become a Certified Transboundary Area:

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A short introduction and update of the SoilSparks Project run by Bantani Education and the EUROPARC Federation.

SoilSparks – Mobilising our Youth+ Community to create a new educational campaign

Why Soil, and why Citizens?

Soil represents the very foundation of life as we know it. Its rich diversity is mirrored in the various ecosystems it nurtures, ranging from lush primary forests to resilient Mediterranean coastal flora. Soil plays a crucial role in sustaining human existence by providing essential resources for agriculture, serving as grazing land, and enabling the growth of food and other vital materials. Yet, it rarely features in public environmental debate in the way that air or water quality do.

SoilSparks treats this gap as a citizenship issue rather than only a scientific one: if soil health is to improve, people need to understand, think and act in their own communities. Young people are best placed to create momentum for change.

Furthermore, soil is an intricate world in its own right, housing a complex web of inorganic and organic elements. It plays a critical yet frequently underestimated role in the natural cycle of life, facilitating decomposition and the recycling of nutrients that are essential for the health of our planet.

What is SoilSparks?

SoilSparks is about young people co-creating the SoilSparks initiative, to mobilise 1,000+ young Europeans to become SoilSparks Champions – taking real world action for soil. This project is empowering youth from across Europe to co-create a campaign and learning programme transforming soil science into engaging bite-sized challenges – leading young people into innovative digital micro-learning and real-world actions. Led by EUROPARC and involving its junior ranger and Youth+ network, alongside Bantani Education, specialists in entrepreneurial learning, SoilSparks will run for 18 months and is part of the Horizon Europe SOILSCAPE project to build bridges between soil science and society through artistic means.

What has been done so far?

Photo credit: Alberto Madrassi

The first stage of the project has just completed, with young people active in the EUROPARC Federation’s youth networks actively consulted and included in the project. In March, 30 young people from 23 countries were invited to be upskilled on soil science through an online, self-paced summer school programme. This group included almost 30% neurodivergent youth, with ages spanning 18 – 30 years old, and with backgrounds from soil scientists to art students and everything in between.

The young people completed a series of 8 self-paced modules covering the EU Mission Soil and Co-creation processes accessed through a youth-friendly digital learning platform called Learncast. This tool allowed on-the-go learning and each module included audio bits, quizzes, writing tasks and sent the students out to do a hands-on activity. In addition, the students had an online space to introduce themselves, access resources and post their own learning journeys. They also come together once a week for an online session where guest experts were invited to share a snippet of their experience and spark discussion in the group.

Photo credit: Anna-Sophie Kloppe

After a month of learning, 28 young people came together in Reims, France, for a 5-day co-creation camp. The aim of this camp was to continue to strengthen relationships already formed, learn about current conservation methods with a field trip to Montagne de Reims regional park, explore their creative expressions, and co-design challenges to be included in the final educational campaign. This was a resounding success with participants sharing the roles of learning and teaching, shaping the direction of the work rather than responding to a fixed brief. Young people worked hard to transport the project team into the minds of the current youth generations.

How does this translate expertise into public engagement?

The project deliberately routes scientific and institutional knowledge through young people rather than delivering it to the public directly. Soil scientists, EUROPARC staff and Bantani Education, supported by University of Hohenheim and EIT Food, provide the underlying expertise and validate content for accuracy, while the young participants translate this into messaging and challenges designed to work for their peers. This process is intended to keep the science sound while making the final content genuinely usable and valuable for a non-specialist audience.

What is in the planning for the next stages?

The second stage of the project is to design the final educational campaign. The young people are invited to continue working on the project by joining the Youth Panel, and the experts from the summer school and more are joining a Science Panel, assessing the educational components and ensuring it is easy to understand and the latest up-to-date knowledge.

The campaign will launch on World Soil Day on the 5th December 2026 and the young people will help with its promotion, as almost each of them is connected to a volunteer youth group active in a Protected Area or with interests in nature conservation, geology or art. An educational toolkit will be produced alongside the campaign and shared with teacher networks connected to EIT Food, a collaborating partner.

The final educational campaign will be designed for young people aged 16 – 30 years old, in line with EU GDPR and digital safety, and will not only increase awareness on soil and its context in Europe, but will also drive actions that inspire discussions leading to changes in behaviour. Added value comes from mapping the micro-challenges to GreenComp and EntreComp, and using these competences as evidence within SoilSparks digital credentials to recognise the actions taken by SoilSpark Champions.

What is the impact beyond the project?

Photo credit: Alberto Madrassi

The project has clear goals in terms of inclusive co-creation as well as a list of outputs ranging from teacher toolkits, the educational campaign platform and a non-formal educator training for Protected Area staff and other youth educators. All education outputs will be fully mapped to GreenComp and EntreComp. More widely, there are also many intangible outcomes of the project.

The 30 young people participating in the design of the campaign have all undergone an intensive training on the topic of soil, as well as developed friendships across countries. Almost each of them is connected with a youth group actively volunteering in a Protected Area.

Going forward, they are going to share these experiences with their youth groups and strengthen ties between groups leading to a more empowered and connected international community. They will continue to inspire new young people to volunteer, actively engage and participate in such opportunities. However, these are also young people who are highly likely to enter green careers. Considering that the topic of soil conservation is often overlooked in the Protected Area sector, this project will be the spark of new discussions and upskilled young professionals entering this sector and pushing for increased efforts to safeguard this important system.

This project is part of the broader Horizon project SOILSCAPES and is funded by the European Union and the Swiss Confederation.