Our first Transnational Meeting in Ebro Delta

Riet Vell reserve hosted last week the first meeting of the European Erasmus + project 'Rooted'. Using digital tools as applications for birds and nature identification, webcams, interactive platforms in the natural areas and podcasts, this project looks to make nature more close to senior people.

SEO/BirdLife Malta is leading this project with some other European allies as SEO/BirdLife Catalonia, HOS- Hellenic Ornithological Society (Greece), OTOP- Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (Poland) and Europsky Dialog (Slovakia).

"SEO/BirdLife has been working a lot with sustainable tourism for people with physical and emotional problems, and with youth people but not with senior people", explains Cristina Sánchez, SEO/BirdLife Catalonia director. "We need to think about this kind of people because we host visitors from North and Centre Europe", she adds.

The idea of ROOTED started from a love of listening and sharing stories,” said Vera Tokmakova, Visitor Experience Officer and Project Coordinator at BirdLife Malta. “I’m always moved by how passionately the older generation speaks about their experiences in nature. I wanted more people to hear their voices and realise how nature had changed. By bringing seniors back into nature, we hope to create new, beautiful stories and show that enjoying the outdoors is still possible and meaningful at any age. At the same time, we introduce to them digital tools and new technologies to ensure lifelong learning.”

But this project is not only focused in tourists, its main is to give voice to senior local people that normally is ignored. So the idea is to highlight their work and knowledge.

"We believe that providing an opportunity for seniors to be active again in contact with nature and to pass on their experiences and feelings about nature to younger ones will be of great value to both generations", said Hanna Rachwald, Education Leader at OTOP, BirdLife Poland.

During this meeting participants spoke about the actions to develop during this project as for example guides with several tours and information about plants, birds and fauna in the natural spaces involved in this project.

"In the past, we have collaborated in joint activities with elderly people, whether it was recording testimonies about the biodiversity of protected areas or going on nature excursions," says Eugenia Panoriou, Environmental Education Coordinator of the Hellenic Ornithological Society. "This time, however, it's different, as through a variety of actions—such as producing podcasts, suggesting outdoor activities, and selecting walking routes—we aim to support and encourage elderly individuals to step outside the restricted urban environment and reconnect with nature."

Besides, participants visited Riet Vell to learn more about its rich natural and cultural heritage and also to know how the project will be here implemented.