Biological diversity in wetlands; Biowet Dokka Upper Secondary school has for several years used the local Dokka delta nature reserve for biology studies. The students are involved in practical scientific collection work, species identification and environmental monitoring. We use the open classroom and ´hands-on´ activities to increase motivation, stimulate environmental awareness and to learn about sustainable development. Our objective in this Erasmus+ project is to expand from the local to the international, through collaboration with Martin Mere Wetland Centre in England, Companhia das Lezírias in Portugal, Urdaibai in Spain and Wetland Link International (WLI, the global network of wetland centres). Our goal is to contribute to the mapping of biodiversity in wetland ecosystems, raise awareness amongst a broad group of stakeholders, and increase cooperation between wetland centres in various countries in an era of major global environmental challenges. By engaging students in international work we will contribute to sustainable development and to a better understanding of the impact of climate change on wetland biodiversity. The four wetland centers chosen for this project are all Ramsar sites and have local CEPA programs (communication, education and public awareness). We want our project to contribute to increased cooperation regarding the exchange of teaching methods. Our goal is that this project will help to emphasize the importance of biodiversity, and to further develop the use of on-site wetland education. We aim to combine theoretical skills in biology with practical fieldwork, in close collaboration with these wetland centers. Human development and climate change put increasing pressure on wetlands worldwide, and we want to facilitate a common monitoring system across national borders, which can be designed by the participants, ensuring its relevance and long term use as part of the WLI network. The students and teachers taking part will actively contribute, by designing and populating the biowet system. They will create materials and resources to share data and raise awareness, as well as use their skills to increase the reach of the wetland conservation message. This will culminate in our Biowet seminar in 2021. In addition, the staff involved in the project will come together to exchange experiences with fieldwork in lakes, rivers, mires and the Dokka delta. Our aim is that the project will help to emphasize the importance of biodiversity and increase European cooperation in wetland monitoring. The results will hopefully further develop the use of on-site wetland education. We believe that the digital monitoring system, Biowet for biodiversity in wetland ecosystems that we are designing with our staff and students specifically for the project, will be of interest in many other sites and countries in Europe. It will be openly available on the WLI website, and the members of the network will be encouraged to use it. It will form a systematic and tailor-made system for continual data sampling for different wetlands types. This will be easy to use for schools, volunteers and institutions, and will have an international relevance. It will build on existing data sets and engage new audiences. The EU Water Framework Directive is of direct relevance, and this project will actively broaden the audience, raise awareness of the issues facing wetlands, and make the link between climate change and its impact on wetlands.
Our goal in this Erasmus + project was to expand from the local to the international, through collaboration with our partners in England, Portugal, and Spain with some help and assistance from Wetland Link International. During the project period, staff and students worked together on tasks such as mapping species in wetlands, with management measures, and with monitoring. Through this work, we have focused on how climate change affects the wetland ecosystem and the significance they have for many species and for flood protection. Our partners have been the management of these centers and other employees, including students, with whom we have worked closely. There has also been contact with local school students from various countries, and together with them our students have discussed working methods and tasks, given lectures together on climatic challenges, and collaborated on practical tasks. Other important aspects of the Erasmus + project for all involved have been social contact, overcoming language barriers, and making contacts across national borders. Students and teachers have participated in the practical activities that each wetland center has planned, these were decided and coordinated during the planning meeting in 2018. There were many common issues in the various wetland centers, but also some local challenges. Each center involved a number of qualified employees with different special fields, they used local media and had exhibitions about Erasmus +, the Biowet project. Chris Rostron and Connor Walsh from Wetland Link International also participated, especially in connection with our working week in Martin Mere, but also in our many virtual meetings and webinars during the project. They also participated virtually at our wetland seminar in Norway in the autumn of 2021. This gave the project a greater international weight and contributed greatly to raising awareness among a broad group of stakeholders about our Erasmus + project and climate-related work in wetland centers in a time of great global environmental challenges. The three participating wetland centers in the project and our own Dokkadelta National Wetland Center have all contributed to the exchange of teaching methods and work practices that contribute to further developing the use of wetland teaching on-site. The students have combined theoretical skills in biology with practical fieldwork, together with professionals who work with such issues on a daily basis. We have worked across national borders. We have for example registered ringed birds from Norway in some of the other wetland centers, we have registered blacklist and red list species at all centers and we have been developing common working methods for registration work. Human development and climate change are putting increasing pressure on wetlands around the world, and we wanted to facilitate a common monitoring system across national borders. This work has been started by the participants, many species are registered in the various wetland centers, but that part of the Biowet project has not been completed. To ensure its relevance and long-term use as part of the WLI network, we need a digital solution that can be common to wetland centers worldwide. The working week for students in the Martin Mere wetland center in March 2019 went according to plan and the students completed tasks and fieldwork in the wetland area in England. The students' work week in the Urdaibai Wetland Center in March 2020 was canceled a few days before departure due to the corona outbreak. This was also the case with the students' working week in the EVOA wetland center in Portugal in the autumn of 2020, and with the final wetland seminar in Norway in May 2021. Fortunately, we got a six-month extension of the project which made it possible to conduct the seminar in September and the working week at EVOA, Portugal in November. The workweek in Urdaibai in October 2021 was unfortunately not possible with students, due to travel restrictions for students, but teachers could go. Then the work week was carried out according to plan, but mainly for the staff. Staff, students, and teachers have used their skills and networks to increase the reach of the message of wetland conservation. We have designed teaching materials and other resources used during the fieldwork, we have shared data, created exhibitions, and lectures about the Biowet project in particular, the wetland ecosystem in general, as well as species diversity and the impact of climate change. Much of this was used at our Biowet seminar in autumn 2021. In addition to those involved in the project, speakers and several politicians were invited. I attach the seminar program and a link to the WLI page online with a link to the lecture day of the seminar. https://wli.wwt.org.uk/initiatives/biowet/ Through this project, staff and students have further developed the use of wetland teaching on-site, common methods that we will convey to new groups of students.