August 19, 2022 - Croatia's natural heritage is vast, and you will find something to soothe your soul on every step. From the Adriatic Sea in the west, to the Danube in the east, don't miss what is in between. Drava is the second longest river in Croatia. Witness its beauty and discover the Dravska Priča Visitor Centre where you can learn some of its many secrets.

As Glas Slavonije writes, the visitor centre of the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Areas of Nature and the Ecological Network of the Virovitica-Podravina County, Dravska Priča in Noskovci, has become one of the most attractive visitor destinations in Slavonia in recent years.

Photos: Dravska Priča

This Sunday, members of the Gudovac Women's Association visited the centre. In addition to seeing all the contents of the Visitor Centre, the visit was also an opportunity to agree on further cooperation in the implementation of the activities planned by the association. During the previous two months in Noskovci, the visitors included the employees and users of the Borova Care Home, the teachers of Antun Gustav Matoš Elementary School from Čačinci, the students and their teachers from the elementary schools Petar Preradović in Pitomača, Matija Petar Katančić from Valpovo, Ivana Brlić - Mažuranić from Virovitica, August Cesarec from Špišić Bukovica and primary schools Suhopolje and Ferdinandovac. With the expert guidance of the employees of the Institution, all visitors were presented with the contents of the Dravska Priča Visitor Centre.

As part of the study trip "Teci Dravo, teci...", organized by the Tourist Board of VPŽ and the Tourist Board of Dravski Peski from Kloštar Podravski, a group of journalists and bloggers from Croatia also visited Dravska Priča in Noskovci. Field teaching was also held there for students of the 1^st year of the undergraduate studies of Hunting and Nature Protection of the Polytechnic in Karlovac, who got to know the ecosystem of floodplain and lowland forests along the Drava River through part of the program from the courses General Ecology and Zooecology, Applied Zoology, Geobotany, and Forestry. In addition, students investigated the presence of medium-sized and large mammals (otter, beaver, jackal, badger, fox, wild boar, deer...), the biology and ecology of bats, the ecology of grasslands, the presence of birds, etc. All this points to the different possibilities of the Centre, which also offers accommodation. Visitors can also prepare their own food, or have catering arranged.

In the first six months of 2022, the centre had 351 overnight stays, a total of 1,633 visitors, and approximately 500 more people participated in various activities, either as public institutions or as partners in various projects.

Given that many educational institutions, as well as other nature lovers and conservationists, have recognized the significance of Dravska Priča and its role in preserving the natural values ​​of the area, GS asked the director of the public institution, Tatjana Arnold Sabo, what Dravska Priča offers and why the destination should definitely be visited.

“The Dravska Priča visitor centre offers a different view of nature, understanding nature, and simply experiencing nature. The contents of the Visitor Centre and its thematic decoration have been adapted for this. Each room has its own little story of our complete story, nature is not presented to visitors in a classic, museum way, looking at thigns and having someone talk about them. There are also different sounds, the possibility of smelling, interactive participation, discovering what our multimedia display offers. There is also the scientific aspect where visitors, especially those who stay with us for several days, after collecting samples in nature have the opportunity to analyse them in our bioresearch station. In addition, we have had a recovery facility for storks in the park of the centre for six years, and since last autumn we have had aviaries for birds of prey and a shelter for invasive species of red-eared turtles, and a month ago we got hawksbill turtles, which have also become our residents”.

Director Arnold Sabo says that the Dravska Priča Visitor Centre is currently implementing six different projects, while in the recent past there were periods when twice as many would be implemented at the same time. “But we are also preparing new projects”, says the director.

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