The regional meeting for the territory of Svishtov Municipality took place on 18 March in the Folklore Spring Complex in Tsarevets village. Among the participants were representatives of the municipality of Svishtov, Rerional inspectorate for environment and water Veliko Tarnovo, pedagogical specialists, experts of the “Changing with climate” project and others.
The meeting was opened by the director of the host school – “Tsvetan Radoslavov” Secondary School in Svishtov. The activities of the school in the field of environmental education were presented. The project “Changing with Climate” was in turn presented by the experts working on its implementation.
During the first part of the meeting, the participants were introduced to the content of the project’s online information and education portal. Mr. Nikolay Petkov, expert on climate issues, highlighted key messages from leading international and national climate-related documents. He presented various educational games and materials created by the projects of the environmental association “For the Earth” and other organizations.
Participants discussed opportunities for introducing climate change education in schools, which can be implemented through the regulations of the State Education Standards for Civic, Health, Environmental and Intercultural Education.
In the second part, the attendees were divided into 3 groups, each group related to one of the key areas: climate change and environment, climate change and economic and urban sectors; climate change and human health. After discussing the issues within the group, each group presented their views and ideas – discussed and complemented by all participants.
Topics for future development and discussions were identified. They include changes in the local climate, temperature rises and change within the cycle of the seasons, extreme natural events and the impact of climate change on human health and the urban environment. Climate change is a cause of stress (physiological and mental), and the use of air conditioning (with a large difference between room and outside temperature) is particularly dangerous to health. Because of mild winters, the spread of respiratory viruses has been observed, and the rise in temperature is causing an increase in bacterial infections. The implications of climate change for the environment, agriculture and biodiversity were discussed. Uncharacteristic behaviour of some species is observed (hibernation, migration) while others have changed their habitats. Heating in winter causes an increase in particulate matter pollution. Afforestation programmes have been implemented, but they are not sufficient to solve the problem of air pollution. Those present expressed a strong desire to give publicity to the problems mentioned in order to work on their consequences. This is the main mission of the project “Changing with Climate”.
Regional introductory meeting within the project “Changing with Climate”, hosted by Secondary School “Tsvetan Radoslavov”, Svishtov, 18 march 2022
