It is with great sadness that EUROPARC learned of the sudden death of Wilf Fenten this week.

Wilf was a stalwart of EUROPARC having been involved in setting up and serving as Director of EUROPARC consulting which was central in managing the Charter for Sustainable Tourism and developing networking workshops in EUROPARC Atlantic Isles.

A native German, Wilf was an adopted Englishman and even more so, of Yorkshire, where he had been a board member of the Yorkshire Dales National Park as well as a local councillor. His passion for caring for the land, took a practical turn when he managed a small flock of sheep and wildflower meadows at his home in Settle. It was a source of much hilarity to hear of the sheep- adventures of “Angela Merkel“ and “Condoleezza Rice”, as the sheep were named after female world leaders.

A true European, Wilf relished the international connections he helped forge across EUROPARC. Although saddened when EUROPARC Consulting closed, his dedication to the Charter continued, as a member of the evaluation committee, who very much appreciated his long experience, knowledge and attention to detail. He had been too a Trustee of the Dales and Harrogate Tourism Partnership. Wilf’s outgoing and friendly personality served him well bringing many stakeholders together in many Protected Area European projects. These included “training the trainers” programme for the WWF Danube Carpathian and with other Protected Areas on more specialist topics such as “Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism”, “Protected Areas as Testbeds for Sustainable Development” and a “Learning from Europe” project about strengthening the identity and public commitment towards English Protected Landscapes. Many will have been touched by his work and his legacy and achievements across the European Protected Areas community are evident.

Wilf loved his connections and times with EUROPARC. We understand he felt it was the most rewarding part of his life – combining work with his enthusiasm for designated landscapes all over Europe. His company was always a pleasure, you were always greeted with a huge smile and warm hug and was never without a good story from his many travels and connections. He was kind, considerate, consummately positive and emanated joy.

He was a star in our EUROPARC firmament that has sadly now dimmed.

Our deepest condolences go to Hilary and his children and grandchildren.

The partners of the Sustainability and Environmental Education in Outdoor Sports project (SEE) invite you to attend the final Project Learning Symposium in Munich from the 13th – to the 15th of November 2023. The main program is scheduled for the 14th of November.

The SEE Project aims to enhance the protection of natural landscapes through education in and through sport with special focus on responsible outdoor behaviour and skills development for outdoor sports leaders, trainers, guides, or instructors.

During the SEE Learning Symposium, hosted at the beautiful Burg Schwaneck just outside of Munich, attendees will learn about current challenges and opportunities of outdoor sports practiced in (Protected) Natural Areas and how to address these through newly developed training methodologies in Outdoor Sports education.

The programme

The symposium is an opportunity to bring together an international audience from both the outdoor sports sector and the environmental protection sector to share ideas, transfer knowledge and work on future collaborations. The program will include ample opportunities to learn and network from one another through various facilitated networking sessions with project partners and experts, interactive activities, and demonstrations of the SEE Educational Toolkit.

The learning symposium will be a full-day programme (Tuesday) which includes practical workshop sessions where partner organisations of the project will demonstrate several toolkit activities. In addition to the toolkit demonstration, the program will include inspirational speeches from leaders in environmental activism, networking activities, dinner, and social program in the evening.

Extend your stay and join the SEE project partners for an early bird outdoor activity on Wednesday morning followed by a workshop session and a deep dive networking session which will focus on specific topics related to different environments and sport types.

Is this event for me?

If you are working in the outdoor sports sector as trainer, tutor, or any other educational role (eg. at a Sports University, sports federation, outdoor training centre, VET provider in the field of OS), or in the outdoor sports / adventure travel tourism sector, then this Learning symposium is the best opportunity to gain new insights in the latest developments of sustainability and environmental education in outdoor sports.

Are you working for a National Park or Protected Area (e.g. member of the EUROPARC Federation) or working with guiding companies, travel agencies in your capacity as land manager, outdoor recreation manager, forestry manager etc.? Then this learning symposium will have valuable insights for you as well and provide great opportunities to have a dialogue to strengthen the relationship between nature and the outdoor sport sector.

Ticket fee

Registration for the event includes lunch, coffee breaks and dinner on Tuesday (other meals /drinks are at own expense). The ticket fee of €20,- will be used to offset the total carbon footprint of the event (e.g. international travelling and overnight stays of the attendees). Of course, participants are encouraged to make use of public transportation as much as possible.

The closing date for the submission is 30th September 2023

If your organisation has been involved in some aspect of innovative sustainable or environmental education practices, then we would love to hear about it and share your ideas with others.

LIFE ENABLE has had an exciting year so far! Several reasons for celebration are in order!

It all started in February with the European Nature Academy Induction Meeting  🌍💪🧠🤓

Take a look at the short video:

We met the first intake of participants in person and kicked off their collaborative learning groups – “PODs”. This was a wonderful start to the ENA journey

Without a doubt, this diverse group of 59 managers from 24 countries brings a wealth of experience, enthusiasm and passion to learn to the European Nature Academy:

The energy, positivity and hunger to network was openly evident in the Induction meeting: we could not have asked for a better start to the European Nature Academy.

European Nature Academy

Following the Induction meeting, we continued our collaboration online – on the European Nature Academy.

Between March and June, participants took part in 11 Online Modules during Course 1 | Core Competencies for Effective Management of Natura 2000 & Protected Areas across Europe. They have also been introduced to the Marine and Forest Courses, as well as Train the Trainers Induction Courses.

Modules included specialised interactive online sessions, some also featuring case studies and guest speakers, including:

• Federico Minozzi | Managing Director, EUROPARC Federation
• Santtu Kareksela | Senior Specialist (Nature conservation) in Parks & Wildlife Finland
• Stefano Santi | Co-chair of the EUROPARC Transboundary Cooperation Task force
• Jorge Sánchez-Cruzado | Altekio S.Coop
• Nicolette Bolté | Area developer Experimental Gardens and Marketing, NP Weerribben-Wieden
• Silvia Argentiero | Communication, social media and press relations, Parco Nord Milano
• Emanuele Raso & Francesco Marchese, Cinque Terre National Park: Actions and project for the management of a cultural landscape | StoneWallsForLife project.
• Daniel Åberg, Elena Bazhenova, Jimena Castillo, Kullaberg Nature Reserve
• Conchi Piñeiro | Altekio S.Coop.

Putting acquired skills to use

During their ENA Journey so far, participants also completed several individual and POD tasks, enabling them to apply their learning to benefit their Natura 2000 sites and Protected Areas. One of the tasks was also to make a short video.
Have a look at the winning video from our POD Resilient Forests!

You can also check out Yellow Submarine POD’s video, which took 2nd place!

The video from POD Oak can be seen here.

The journey continues!

Our participants have busy summer months ahead of them.
Working on their ENA Assignments, Marine, Forest and Train the Trainers Courses.

We are already looking forward to the second intake of participants that will have the opportunity to apply toward the end of 2023! 🤩

Read about LIFE ENABLE!

In English and Spanish

LIFE ENABLE has been featured in several publications. Most recent ones include:

“Being close – News from the Alfred Toepfer Academy for Nature Conservation”
Available in English

FORESTA Magazine

Available in Spanish

We wish you happy viewing & reading! 🤓📰

LIFE ENABLE Team

It is with great sadness that EUROPARC learned of the recent death of Dr Rauno Väisänen, retired Head of Parks and Wildlife Finland, Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services.

Rauno was a big presence in EUROPARC in many ways. Not just a two-time served council member. Founder and President of the Nordic-Baltic Section and Alfred Toepfer Member, but principally a stalwart supporter of EUROPARC and all international cooperation. He ensured that Metsähallitus was not an isolated national agency, but well-connected with the colleagues across Europe, ensuring that his staff members participated in international activities.

He established the Nordic-Baltic Section in 2003 in Finland in order to strengthen the network in the north, to make cooperation more concrete and organised, and to actively influence European policies. His work continues in today’s section.

When asked in 2013 what were his favourite EUROPARC moments, Rauno recalled

Listening speeches and songs in Cymraeg (Welsh) in Llandudno; survival walks over the Irish moors and Italian mountains; having a key-note speech at Roses; watching bears in Romania; dancing to Abba songs at Strömstad; trapping rare moths at Oxford (using the dormitory kitchen as a trap); drinking schnapps in rainy Luxembourg; standing-sitting-standing with the Norwegian queen in Jostedalsbreen; swapping books with Aitken Clark; and enjoying gastronomic delights of Europe in the Council meetings. But, yes, my answer is: admiring the natural beauty of Europe together with the EUROPARC friends, a joint moment when you feel a strong connection both with the nature and your friends.

He could not have summed up EUROPARC better and we were all delighted and privileged to have shared those moments with him.

Rauno was a giant amongst us, in personality, in vision and in person and he will be sorely missed.

All in EUROPARC extend our deepest condolences to Rauno’s family, friends and many colleagues who will miss him.

At EUROPARC Conference 2019 in Latvia, Jurmala, Rauno Väisänen, gave us precious tips on how to make Nature an important topic in politicians and decision-makers mindset.