Networking activities with LIFEstock Protect and ALFAwetlands projects

The summer holiday period is also the time for various networking activities. Exchanging experiences, information, establishing new relationships, peeping at various solutions to avoid mistakes – all these give tangible benefits when implementing nature projects. Accordingly, on July 12-15, our Team traveled to the picturesque Austrian village of Tamsweg, where the expedition’s host, the European Wilderness Society, the coordinating beneficiary of the LIFEstockProtect and ALFAwetlands projects, is located.

The main objective of the trip was to learn about the secrets of constructing fences for cattle grazing pastures as well as any measures related to protection against threats such as wolves or (in our case) wild dogs.

Discussions on the Association’s cooperation with the local agricultural community – sharing problems and successes with a special focus on the often downplayed role of social media in maintaining positive relationships with audiences – turned out to be extremely important.

It was also an opportunity to learn about the effects of climate change, from the flash floods on the Mura River and attempts to prevent their effects, to the ever higher areas of forests infested by the spruce bark beetle, to the once longest and now disappearing at an express pace – Austrian Pasterze Glacier.