Forestschools.eu

Children – the forester´s friends – Gallery

“The town, which lies in the valley of the Hron valley, 34 km southwest of Banská Štiavnica, in the foreground of the Štiavnica Mountains. It is first mentioned in 1347 as “Leua”. It comes from the Slavic Lev, which is a variant of the personal name Lőrinc. The city was built around a low fortress, where in the past stood a Celtic fortress. I found this and similar information in Wikipedia about Levice. I had to look at it, because we had planned a trip to this city with 20 Fridays and Sixths for the Levice Hunting Days on May 10, 2019. ”said the class teacher of the elementary school from Héhal in her letter of thanks.

The project activity “Children friends of foresters” organized within the project “Foresters for raising public environmental awareness” from the cooperation program INTERREG V-A Slovak Republic – Hungary, which took place on 10 May 2019, was attended by children from the Slovak-Hungarian border. Levice was visited by children from the Hungarian primary school in Héhal. Within Nógrád County, this school is one of the smaller schools attended by many children from disadvantaged backgrounds, living in difficult financial conditions. That is why they were very happy to be able to take part in this event. At the Levice Hunting Days, forest reports from OZ Levice presented their forest pedagogy activities. A show of trophies, an exhibition of photographs and children’s drawings was organized. Professional lectures and a fair of hunting equipment also took place in the interior of the winter stadium. Hungarian and Slovak children participated in this rich program in a playful way. Under the guidance of local foresters, the children participated in various activities in small groups. They enjoyed various games, got to know predators in the immediate vicinity and absorbed new knowledge with interest.

Children love the forest, animals and insects. The boys were interested in activities where they could show their strength and courage. There were also tug of war and competition in pulling the load. The girls could test their attention, knowledge and experience in recognizing the seeds and leaves of woody plants, voice recognition of game and forestry quiz. In such a fun and playful way, they could learn something new about the forest and life in it, trees, animals, birds, insects. This is the most effective form of learning, the most enjoyable way to acquire the most lasting knowledge. In the afternoon, the children also had the opportunity to recharge the nearby Levice Castle, which for some time was protected against the Turks by István Dobó himself and his soldiers. The professional lecture of the guide on the history of the castle took care of expanding the knowledge.

During the all-day well-organized excursion, Hungarian children received special attention. Continuous accompaniment and interpretation helped to overcome language barriers. In conclusion, we can say that the project activity fully fulfilled its goal, which was to raise the awareness of the young generation and bring them closer to the work of foresters, the forest and life in the forest.

Ing. Nikoleta Nozdrovická

EU Projects Department