In the Bear-Smart Communities of the Central Apennines, an educational initiative has begun to raise awareness among children and teenagers about human-bear coexistence.
Messages about human-bear coexistence are reaching many children and teenagers in Bear-Smart Communities! For several weeks now, the educational program under LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors initiative has been underway. Rewilding Apennines, Salviamo l’Orso, the Monte Genzana Alto Gizio Nature Reserve, and Coop Valleluna are engaging with hundreds of students from kindergartens, primary schools, and lower secondary schools in the Peligna Valley. Additionally, the two NGOs have taken action in the Bear-Smart Communities of Alto Molise and Valle Roveto-Ernici, the latter in collaboration with the Zompo lo Schioppo Nature Reserve and Coop Dendrocopos.
The preliminary phase included in-person and online meetings with dozens of teachers from the Mazzini-Capograssi, Molise Altissimo, and Matteotti Comprehensive Institutes to share objectives, actions, and methods. Approximately 450 students are involved in the program.
The activities consist of classroom sessions where, through games, animations, storytelling, and creative hands-on work, children can learn more about bears and their habits, as well as the interactions between bears and humans. What can we do to prevent a bear from approaching our town? How should we behave in the mountains to enjoy nature without disturbing wildlife? Answers to these and many other questions are provided to students in a fun and interactive manner.
The second phase will involve an outdoor day for each participating class in the spring, exploring bear habitats and engaging in sensory games, which will take place in the Monte Genzana Alto Gizio Nature Reserve (including a visit to the Bear’s Den Interpretive Center), the Montedimezzo Biosphere Reserve, and the Zompo lo Schioppo Nature Reserve.
“From the very first classroom meeting, the young students have shown great receptiveness and curiosity about the Marsican bear. It’s easy to create connections between children and bears; the more challenging part is building awareness that coexistence is the right approach to living in this landscape in the future, with the hope that they can continue to enjoy the presence of this extraordinary species,” stated Angela Tavone, Communications Manager of Rewilding Apennines, who, along with her colleagues Serena Frau, Stefania Toppi, and Erminia Liberatore, is leading the LBSC educational program.
A similar educational programme already took place last school year in the territory of the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, again within the framework of the LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors, involving 150 primary and lower secondary school students from five local Comprehensive Institutes. Soon, educational activities dedicated to human-bear coexistence will also begin in the territory of the Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park, in primary schools from at least three municipalities, while smaller centers will have specific meetings in the form of afternoon workshops for kids.
All the children and young people involved, along with their teachers, will also participate in a contest titled “Human and bear: a daily coexistence,” organized as part of the LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors initiative. By mid-May, they will need to prepare a project representing human-bear coexistence as they have understood and internalized it, using any methods and tools, with no limits to their imagination. The Italian LBSC partners expect to see exhibitions of drawings, theatrical performances, dance or musical shows, stories, 3D works, and much more. Whatever form the projects take, the creativity of the youngest participants will know no bounds!
At the end of the program, by the end of May, the five winning classes of the contest will be announced among all those participating in the Bear-Smart Communities of the Central Apennines, with an awards day set for June.
May the bear inspire your journey, kids!
