Camping for three days and two nights in the Gesäuse National Park. Experiencing a night in a bivouac or refuge, watching the chamois and discovering your own territory in the Massif des Bauges Regional Natural Park. Feeling and touching the mountain environment through the land art in the Écrins National Park, or being involved in the Youth Council of the Prealpi Giule Regional Nature Park. Several such experiences and educational programs for children and young people in the Alps were shared during the 5th ALPARC workshop on Mountain Education in Alpine Protected Areas, which took place from the 3rd to the 5th October 2018 in Trenta, Triglav National Park (Slovenia). In addition to the shared activities, two key themes of environmental education were presented.
The use of new technologies in environmental educationThe Slovenian Centre for Outdoor Activities (CSOD) guided the debate on the use of new technologies in outdoor activities. The theoretical approach followed a field experience allowing participants to directly test an application developed by the organization with the participation of teachers. Some barriers remain: the use of new technologies can cause young people to be increasingly disconnected from nature, and technical knowledge and appropriate technologies are sometimes necessary. On the other hand, new technologies can become an educational support in activities. It is clear, however, that their use cannot be dissociated from a direct experience of nature.
Youth participation in protected areasThe meeting was also an opportunity to discuss the subject of youth participation in protected areas. The experts from the city of Idrija, with Mateuz Straus, facilitated an exchange on the topic. To improve the participation of young people in the running of the park is considered essential to increase young people's awareness of nature protection, allowing them to be anchored in the territory and to become more involved in it.