News from the EUROPARC Youth Council as they start their 2-year Mandate!

The second cohort of the EUROPARC Youth Council is off to a good start!

The second cohort of the EUROPARC Youth Council were invited to Gut Siggen for the second part of the Siggen Seminar, an annual event dedicated to capacity building and further developments in the EUROPARC Federation. The group were selected by their peers in November 2025 and have met online over the last 3 months ahead of the event.

As a group they are well-balanced and bring a diverse range of perspectives. The group consists of 7 young professionals (from contractors to dedicated staff) working on topics including transboundary parks, sustainable development, nature restoration, community engagement, education, and landscape management. The remaining 3 members are very active Youth+ers, working with non-formal youth engagement and the Junior Ranger programme. They also have regional diversity with all sections having at least 1 Youth Council member active in their area except for Federparchi.

The core criteria for a youth council member:

• Young (19-28 years old)
• Good English competencies
• Active in their local Protected Area as staff or Youth+ or Junior Ranger Alumni
• Passionate about conservation, culture and sustainability in Protected Areas
• From a range of diverse countries and backgrounds (9 countries represented)
• Dedicated to volunteering for 2 years (2025-2027)
• Able to work together online

As members of the Youth Council, they came together through a shared passion for Protected Areas, driven by a common goal to support their legacy while fostering collaboration, networking and connection among young people across borders. Through advocacy, learning and active engagement, they aim to empower youth, strengthen our network and contribute to a more sustainable future built on growth, progress and continuous improvement.

The role of the Youth Council: To represent and be the voice of young people of Protected areas and the EUROPARC Federation

Supporting the work of EUROPARC

During their time on the Youth Council, they aim to amplify youth voices across all EUROPARC spaces, engage and empower young people in conservation, build stronger human-nature connections, and create inclusive communities, ultimately making a meaningful impact and growing together as confident leaders for nature. Similarly, as a network and the directorate, it is up to us to help them develop their competencies by creating opporunities for them to learn and participate.

The Youth Council members play an important role as a bridge to ‘on-the-ground’ members and activities, playing a similar role as a section. They are the link to young professionals or stakeholder groups such as Junior Rangers and Youth + . They bring energy and new experiences sharing these with the youth representative sitting on the EUROPARC Council, in the sections in which they can be actively included, and also in the newly established working groups.

They can also promote EUROPARC and its work as ambassadors, by being active voices in conferences, workshops, in their own organisations and in their studies. They play an active role in the European Youth in Parks Day (15th of September), determining a youth priority for the theme and actively organising youth-led activities within their own Protected Areas.

First in-person meeting in Gut Siggen

The in-person meeting at Gut Siggen proved to be an essential and transformative step in strengthening the foundations of the Youth Council. While online collaboration enables continuity, coming together physically has allowed them to build trust, deepen connections, and engage in more meaningful and productive discussions. This shared experience enhanced our understanding of one another, clarified our collective role within the EUROPARC Federation, and reinforced our shared responsibility to represent and amplify the voices of young people in Protected Areas across Europe.

Such in-person collaboration is an investment into effectiveness, cohesion, and long-term impact of the Youth Council. With renewed motivation and shared direction in place, they are well-positioned to contribute meaningfully to EUROPARC’s mission and to actively participate in shaping a more inclusive and sustainable future for Protected Areas across Europe.

Stay tuned to their activities by following EUROPARC on social media (and @youth.europarc on Instagram)!

If anyone wants to make a direct connection with a member of the youth council, reach out to Jessica Micklem-Kolenić from the EUROPARC Directorate who can assist you further.

The Latvian national parks paired up to help a Croatian National Park start their own Junior Ranger programme.

Expanding the Junior Ranger programme through Erasmus+ projects

The Erasmus+ project “Environmental awareness-raising of young people from protected areas”  was a small-scale partnerships project between Gauja National Park Fund (Latvia), Ķemeri National Park Fund (Latvia), Krka National Park (Croatia) and Leader Sepra (Finland). Over the course of two years, it aimed to inform and raise interest of young people about environmental issues in Europe, partner countries and local territories and create possibility to participate and express their opinion through existing youth organisations such as the Junior Ranger Programme, scouts and others.

The project included research into good practices from junior rangers in Latvia, scouts in Finland, and pilot activities in Croatia in the field of non-formal methods, looking at how to involve the teenagers in nature protection and increase their environmental awareness. Not just that, the project also looked even deeper, exploring a the motivations for youth engagement and incorporating them into their youth programmes.

Download the new guide for the EUROPARC Junior Ranger programme and read all about it!

Download it here: Guide

During last two years the project partners had three successful study visits and an international final event in Krka National Park, developing a Junior Ranger Programme and a motivation system for young people which resulted in Krka National Park being the first Croatian Protected Area to implement a EUROPARC Junior Ranger programme in recent years. This programme focused on a first cohort of 20 young people and was strengthened by the project partners, improving environmental knowledge and creating visibility materials. In addition to the establishment of a junior ranger group in Croatia, the number of young rangers and volunteers also grew in Latvia.

The successful realisation of project activities brought numerous benefits to all project partners, involved participants as well as participant organisations. The initiative, aimed at young people aged 13 to 30 (including both Junior Rangers and Youth+), focused on nature protection, environmental restoration, and sustainability. Designed to be inclusive and engaging, the activities encouraged participants to develop practical skills needed for biodiversity monitoring, deepen their understanding of environmental issues such as pollinator declines, and strengthen their motivation to protect nature by building a sense of connection to Protected Areas.

Beyond environmental education, the programme fostered valuable social connections. Participants not only made new friends locally but also built international ties, learning about each other’s countries, cultures, and languages. These exchanges enriched the experience, broadening horizons and inspiring continued collaboration across borders.

Partner organisations reported strengthened youth programmes and expanded professional networks, alongside the adoption of innovative educational methods. The project’s strong visibility in local communities further inspired reflection among young people and their families, helping to spread a culture of environmental responsibility.

Participating schools, particularly those connected with the Junior Ranger and Scout movements, benefited from additional extracurricular activities that attracted new students and strengthened community ties. Municipalities gained from the public attention surrounding environmental education, with hopes that some participants may pursue future careers in nature conservation as biologists, foresters, or park rangers.

Protected Areas near the project sites also played a key role, sharing their expertise with participants and expecting that some will one day return as employees or advocates for conservation. Educational workshops with Junior Rangers and scouts are set to continue, with the newly established Junior Ranger group in Krka National Park already planning future activities and seeking to welcome new members.

The project’s success has set a strong foundation for future initiatives dedicated to youth education and environmental stewardship—demonstrating that engaging young people in hands-on learning can inspire both local and global impact.

Co-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, European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Three case studies of Protected Areas engaging in various climate actions.

Protected Areas in Action—Inspiration in the Climate-Nature Nexus

The interconnectedness of climate and nature is well established: healthy ecosystems underpin climate resilience, and effective climate action secures biodiversity. Yet, translating this understanding into on-the-ground results within Protected Areas often faces practical obstacles—limited funding, competing land uses, policy gaps, and the need for cross-sector collaboration.

This article explores the latest case studies from the EUROPARC members and delves into successful solutions to common challenges.

Volunteers planting sphagnum by Claire Maxted, BMC

Case Study 1: The Climate Project: Sphagnum Planting for Peatland Restoration in the Peak District

The British Mountaineering Council and the Peak District National Park, delivered by Moors for the Future Partnership, have a volunteer programme to bring outdoor sport practitioners into the work of the national park and allowing all to be involved in delivering climate actions through nature restoration. Their lighthouse project won the first ever EUROPARC/ENOS Joint Award so read the full story in our knowledge hub!

Implementation of Fish census protocol by Vasilis Resaikos, Cavo Greco MPA

Case Study 2: Climate-adaptation tools in N2000 site Cavo Greco MPA, Cyprus.

Cavo Greco MPA on Cyprus’s southeast coast covers 9.62 km² and has been part of Natura 2000 since 2008, becoming a marine protected area in 2018. Due to increasing environmental pressures such as growing tourism, rising human activity along the coast, and the vulnerability of its sensitive marine habitats to climate change, the MPA joined the Interreg-EuroMed MPA4Change project. They implemented a set of seven climate-adaptation toolkits to improve monitoring, management, and stakeholder engagement. Interested in their experience?

Derek McLoughlin and Marina Xenophontos (European Commission) Natura 2000 award (Working together for Nature) by Michael McLaughlin

Case Study 3: LIFE IP Wild Atlantic Nature: Incentivising peatland restoration via results-based payments

The Wild Atlantic region of Ireland, implemented a Results Based Payment Scheme (RBPS) linking payments to an annual habitat score (0–10) based on ecological indicators. This incentivised maintaining or improving habitat quality and succesfully increased the momentum of landowners of Natura 2000 to restoring and maintaining biodiversity. It was enacted together with multiple partners and building public support such as school programmes, community seed funds, outreach actions which reinforced local buy-in and build capacity. Do you think you could do the same?

Toolkit: Climate Change Adaptation – Toolkit for Protected Area Managers

This toolkit has been produced to support the work of Protected Area managers in doing the necessary commitments and adjustments to minimize the impacts that Climate Change is having, and will continue having, in the natural spaces they safeguard. It can be used both as a first step, for those managers that did not consider yet Climate Change adaptation measures in their Parks, and for those that despite having started with adaptation measures they need to take further steps in order to have a more integrated approach.

These cases showcase successful efforts and actions taken across the EUROPARC network.

Do you also have an example to share? Send us your case study and join the diversity of voices inspiring and promoting good practices across the EUROPARC network!

Celebrating International Day of Education with an example of co-creating education together with young people

International Day of Education

As a network passionate about Protected Areas, we also recognise that what happens outside their boundaries plays a decisive role in shaping interest, understanding, and protection within them. This is where education and youth work play an important role, creating bridges, helping others connect their behaviour with the natural world and building support for nature conservation.

For the International Day of Education 2026, UNESCO chose to highlight “The power of youth in co-creating education”, showcasing how young people are active partners and making education more sustainable, relevant and inclusive. Our EUROPARC Youth Representative Michelle Herrmann, shares with us a story of a youth-led initiative from the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve.

The power of youth in co-creating education: an example from the Swabian Alb, Germany

Wastefulness and the overuse of natural resources are among the major challenges of the 21st century, particularly in industrialised countries, where average households already consume more resources than the Earth can regenerate. In the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve, Germany, three motivated young students set out to address this issue by engaging the next generation in a creative and hands-on way.

Rather than focusing solely on discussion and appeals for behavioural change, the young instructors chose an alternative approach: giving discarded materials a second life and highlighting their hidden value. In cooperation with RegiNa e.V., they organised a two-day workshop in which waste materials were transformed into playable music instruments.

The project involved 20 pupils aged nine to ten from the Gemeinschaftsschule in Münsingen. On the first day, the children learned about resource use and waste generation and reflected on the value of everyday items that are often quickly discarded. During the Christmas holidays, they collected materials from their homes that could potentially produce sound. On the second workshop day, the instructors guided the children in building a variety of instruments from these materials, while also encouraging them to realise their own creative ideas. Together, they constructed and tuned banjos, percussion instruments and even a bottle piano.

In the next phase of the project, the children will learn a piece of music using their self-made instruments and present it to their classmates at the school’s summer celebration in July. The workshop not only raised awareness of resource efficiency but also inspired the children, who were surprised by the sounds and rhythms that can be created from “waste” with a little imagination and openness.

Are you interested in more innovative youth-led projects? Check out EUROPARC’s Knowledge Hub Youth section to see case studies of other Protected Areas working together with young people.

The project was financially supported by the bw-Stiftung.