Continuing our series on Krka National Park, we look at some creative workshops for children, devised to educate the youngest visitors about the importance of environmental protection
Apart from preserving and promoting the values of this stunning natural gem, one of the fundamental goals of the Public Institute of Krka National Park is education. You will find several educational trails created with regular visitors in mind, but the NP has also prepared four themed workshops for its youngest guests, as they are considered to be the best promoters of positive ecological messages.
All the programmes for children are fun and engaging, appropriate for kids of various ages in terms of content and teaching methods. Carried out by the staff of NP Krka in collaboration with teachers and professors, lectures and workshops aim to teach the young pupils about biological diversity and nature protection.
1. Little park rangers
What better way is there to include the young visitors in the activities of the National Park than to make them rangers for a day? Intended for lower primary school grades, this workshop was devised to get the kids better acquainted with NP Krka through stories and interactive games. The children are first introduced to the National Park with the help of a PowerPoint presentation, covering some basic facts about the area and all the remarkable features of the park.
On to the games: the kids are presented with the story of the bat Jopa, a memorable little character eager to hold a party for his 6th birthday, but prevented from celebrating because of water pollution - we won't give away any more details as to not spoil the ending. Overall, the story serves to show the kids how their individual behaviour can have a positive or negative effect on animals and nature, encouraging them to take better care of the environment.
For the final part of the workshop, the children are put in smaller groups to play a game, with the most successful group winning special prizes at the end. Of course, the rest are not to walk away empty-handed, as each participating child is proclaimed 'a little park ranger' and receives a diploma, a special badge and learning materials.
2. Mini park rangers
This workshop mostly shares its features with the one described above, but is a bit more simplified as it's intended for preschool children. The little visitors will also get introduced to Krka National Park and hear the story of the bat Jopa, with the closing competition involving only a yes/no question session to check who has been paying close attention during the fun-filled day. Each participating kid will become a 'mini park ranger', and receive a diploma and badge.
3. Give more for the bats
Continuing with our bat theme - intended for preschool children and those in lower primary school grades, this workshop aims to get the youngsters better acquainted with the often misunderstood members of the animal kingdom. What are some of the first things that come to mind when bats are mentioned - they get tangled up in your hair? They suck blood? Ever called someone 'blind as a bat'? This educational programme will try to refute some of these unfair prejudices, instead teaching the kids about the importance of bats in the wider context of global ecosystems.
You see, the presence of bats in a certain area is actually an indicator of a healthy environment: they keep the insect numbers in check, pollinate plants, and spread plant seeds. Unfortunately, the bat population just can't catch a break, having to face multiple threats endangering their living conditions: habitat loss (excessive cutting of old trees with hollows, filling in caves, equipping caves for tourism purposes, coating wooden beams with toxic chemicals to protect wood), the use of pesticides, reduction in insect populations, draining watercourses, and water pollution.
This workshop will get the children more familiar with bats with the help of an informative PowerPoint presentation, followed by several creative workshops: making origami bats, painting bat masks, making 3D masks from toilet paper rolls - also introducing the kids to the importance of recycling - and last but not least, the Bat Olympics!
4. 3R - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
For our final item, a commendable programme teaching the kids how to do their part in environmental protection by reducing waste and recycling. Several entertaining activities will encourage the participating children to express themselves through arts and crafts, transforming items that would otherwise get chucked in a bin into little displays of creativity they can use in everyday life. As the activities unfold, the educators of Krka National Park will guide the kids through the process and inform them about their positive influence on the environment.
The young ecologists will be making pearls out of shiny magazine pages and use them to create bracelets or necklaces. Plastic bags will become large colourful flowers, sure to brighten up any piece of clothing or serve as some eye-catching room decor. As there's more than one way to reuse a plastic bag, some will be transformed into handbags and protective cases for mobile phones with the help of an iron - naturally, the staff will lend a helping hand at this point. And finally, matte newspaper will be combined with various harmless dyes and ground in a household blender, resulting in creative sketches, various decorative shapes, and ornaments.
Every object made will be a lasting souvenir of the 3R workshop, and remind the kids of the time they spent with the educators of Krka National Park. Children are delighted to take part and to share their experiences from the workshop with their families and teachers, as well as with other children in their preschools and schools. As we said - the best ambassadors of ecological values and methods of nature preservation!
All the programmes are held year round, either outdoors in Krka National Park or in the branch offices of the Public Institute of Krka National Park. The recommended group size for workshops is 25 children, and the activities usually last 1 hour. You can find more details about the listed activities at Krka National Park.
Photo credit: unless otherwise noted, Krka National Park Archives
