This project aims at educating adults from the target groups into the importance of global biodiversity but also the local biodiversity of where the partners are based and how to protect it directly at the local level and indirectly at the national, European, and international levels. Protecting biodiversity is a key aspect of protecting the environment (Priority #1), and climate change has a major role in biodiversity degradation, even more so on the biodiversity of islands, where the coordinator of this project is located. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment concluded that "the main drivers of island biodiversity loss would either continue or increase rapidly." It projected that the impacts of climate change "will become increasingly severe." The project also follows the European Union's approach to protecting biodiversity. The EU has drafted the "Biodiversity Strategy for 2030" pledging "to create a network of well-managed protected areas comprising at least 30% of EU's land and sea area." We believe that Common Values, Civic Engagement, and Participation have a significant role to play when protecting biodiversity (Priority #2) at the small-scale and local level.
The European Commission states: "The loss of biodiversity has accelerated to an unprecedented level in Europe and worldwide. It has been estimated that the current global extinction rate is 100 to 1000 times higher than the natural rate. In Europe, some 42% of European mammals are endangered, together with 15% of birds and 45% of butterflies and reptiles." Consequentially, there is an increasing need for people to understand the issues and opportunities in the field of biodiversity and biodiversity protection. At the same time, there is growing body of evidence that shows that presenting people with facts and figures about environmental problems, including biodiversity degradation, does not lead to actions that minimise these problems. In this project, we wanted to design and implement methodologies that, while having a focus on scientific facts and the scientific consensus on biodiversity and biodiversity protection, presented information in a fun way that more people might find interesting. We wanted to include options to take action and protect biodiversity at the local level in a direct way, but also indirectly at the regional, national, European, and international levels.