IDEA Public Union and the Ecological Education and Practice Center under the Ministry of Education continue their joint ecological training program “Let’s Protect the Environment Together”, which is aimed at increasing environmental awareness and involving children in the solution of environmental problems from an early-age.

On 10 June 2016, the 50 members of the school Eco-Clubs were taken on a field trip to Shirvan National Park for the training focusing on biodiversity and its protection.

During the theoretical part of the program, children were widely informed about the rich fauna of Azerbaijan, factors affecting the biodiversity, agrobiodiversity and its importance, the Red Book of Azerbaijan, and the role of all living organisms in nature and in human life. They were also told about the wide-range of biodiversity conservation and enrichment projects in the Caucasus conducted by IDEA, such as the “Big Five” project (brown bear, imperial eagle, grey wolf, gazelle and Caucasian leopard) initiated in 2012, reintroduction of gazelles into their historical habitat and the restoration of leopard population in the Caucasus.

For the practical part of the program, the children took a field trip to Shirvan National Park, where they engaged in interactive teamwork games and activities to understand the spectrum of biological diversity. They were also given the information about the animals observed in the protective area, specifically the lifestyle of gazelles, inhabit areas, their role in nature and the works done to protect the species.

Overall, in the framework of “Let’s Protect the Environment Together” program, training sessions for members of eco-clubs of Baku schools are held throughout the 2016 on such topics as basics of ecology, the ecology of plants and animals, human ecology, urban ecology and future cities, climate change, alternative energy, waste management, biodiversity and its conservation, forest ecology, green tourism, etc.

Trainings are intended to continue for the rest of the Eco-Club members from the next academic year.