Eco-journalism, school gardens, restoration of eco-tourism routes, cataloging and protection of local biodiversity, educational forest trails, educational and cultural workshops: 6 projects have been selected to receive non-refundable funding through the Forest Communities of Tomorrow program.
The committee of independent evaluators received 21 different projects, from organizations from all areas of the country – from Argeș, Bacău, Botoșani, Brașov, Buzău, Cluj, Ilfov, Harghita, Mureș, Suceava, Vâlcea and Vrancea counties, plus Bucharest. The total requested budgets exceeded 2.5 million lei.
The winning projects comprise grants of over 684,000 lei
The minutes of the evaluation committee can be downloaded here (.pdf, Romanian). The contracting of the projects will start soon, and the implementation will take place according to the calendar established by each individual project.
Forest Corner – Civic Aries Association (Turda, Cluj County)
The Forest Corner of the Aries Civic Association will be a school garden where the local eco-club will learn the secrets of caring for 500 PetPlants and will spread the love of nature through diverse activities. The project has a total estimated budget of 196,565 lei, including the non-reimbursable funding of 148,800 lei secured through the Tomorrow’s Forest Communities program.
Treasures of Aries – Association for Social Mobility and Democratic Education (Turda, Cluj county)
The project’s activities aim to train protectors and promoters of the local natural heritage – Turda Gorges and Tur Gorges – through eco-journalism workshops, the creation of a biodiversity museum and awareness actions in the school environment. The project received non-refundable funding of 147,400 lei from a total budget of 226,945 lei.
Nucșoara, among people and beeches – Casa Bună Association (Jilava, Ilfov county / Nucșoara, Argeș county)
The project takes place in the commune of Nucșoara, Argeș county, and highlights the natural heritage of the area – the largest secular beech forest in Romania, fast access routes to Vf. Moldoveanu and the southern slope of the Făgăraș Mountains, a population of European bison in freedom or the last population of asprete, an extremely old species of fish that survives only in the Vâlsan river. The project won a grant of 150,000 lei, and the total estimated budget is 175,000 lei.
Voice of Nature – Union of Students from Romania (Bucharest)
The project is focused on the involvement of students in environmental protection actions with tourism and education components: volunteering activities in the Bucegi mountains, including greening, restoring mountain markings and creating a best practice guide for mountain ecotourism. It obtained a grant of 46,500 lei, and the total estimated budget of the project is 52,367.86 lei.
Forest BirdBox – The DaVinci System Association (Turda, Cluj County)
The project will train students from the rural environment of the area in the cataloging of local flora and fauna and in the construction of birdhouses from recovered/recycled wood, for the development of the social economy based on the sustainable use of forest resources. The total budget of the project is 188,958 lei, and the non-refundable funding obtained through the program is 146,998 lei.
Forest Club – Secondary School No. 1, Orăseni-Deal (Botoșani county)
The Forest Club involves school students and the local community in actions with educational value for children – creating decorations from recycled materials, planting, greening, organizing a thematic path in the community forest. The total budget of the project is 47,135 lei, and the non-refundable funding obtained through the program is 44,900 lei.
About the Tomorrow's Forest Communities
The Tomorrow’s Forest Communities program is addressed to community actors in Romania’s forested areas – forest owners or administrators (and their associations), UATs, NGOs with concerns about sustainable forest management, nature conservation and protected area management, NGOs with a social mission, social enterprises and educational institutions.
The program will run between 2022-2031, within the limits of available financial resources. Priority funding areas will be defined for each annual funding cycle but must follow specific program objectives.
