Region: Baltics, Central and Eastern Europe, Estonia
Author: Estonian Students Society for Environment Protection "Sorex"
Consortium Member: Ecologia Eesti
Status: Needs Funding
Budget: $2054
Collected: $0
Needs: $2054
Goal: Through a "hands on" workshop on the island of Hiiumaa, young people from 6 nations will learn about and contribute to sustainable development and nature protection
Comment: This project and its follow-up will be done in cooperation with local officials, businesspeople and nature park employees.
Project Organizers
The main organizer is Estonian Students for Environment Protection "Sorex". It is a non-profit voluntary organisation of students. Its aim is to raise public awareness about ecology, to develop interest towards nature and to create environmental-friendly way of thinking among young people. The main activities of "Sorex" are organizing events aiming at environment protection, hiking, skiing and biking trips for its members to get acquainted with different problems, and seminars on specific topics with the presence of experts, specialists and students.
This project will be carried out in cooperation with the Estonian youth organization Pylades. The main attempt of Pylades is to concentrate on the young adults' individual needs - starting from cultural, gender and age-based needs. Young people have a wide and interesting range of ideas; Pylades was founded to attend to those needs and to make their ideas come true. The name Pylades originates from Greek mythology, and stands for friendship. In its work, Pylades offers youngsters several spare-time spending opportunities. They support youth initiatives of youngsters to have organized free time in order to point out the positive values and prevent social problems. Being active members of the society, they cooperate with governmental institutions and public organizations.
Description of the Project
The project is a case study for young people from the countries around the Baltic Sea. The goal is to raise awareness of youth about environment-friendly lifestyles, and to introduce them to the recreational, aesthetic and natural values of the landscape of Hiiumaa.
Hiiumaa is an island, Hiiumaa is separated from the mainland of Estonia. As a result, Hiiumaa County has adopted more sustainable development proinciples than any other county in Estonia. That is why we decided this would be the best place to introduce youth to the essense of sustainable development.
For 50 years, Hiiumaa was a restricted area within the larger restricted area that was the Soviet Union. Even citizens of Estonia were prohibited from going to the island without proper authorization. In some ways this was helpful, because Hiiumaa has many rare plant and animal species, and these were protected, though somewhat unintentionally.
Now that Estonia has been a free country for over 10 years, it is facing a whole new set of problems, and Hiiumaa is facing new problems as well. One of these problems is how to convert the island from a place where outsiders were kept away to a place where visitors are welcome and information about the island is freely available to anyone who is interested. Thus our next goal is to visit the sightseeing places for tourists, as well as to discover less known but naturally beautiful places by exploring Hiiumaa on bicycles. Afterwards, we will give Hiiumaa couny and also tourist companies advice how to develop Hiiumaa's touristic values without harming the extraordinary nature and the environment. The aim is to find out what are the common problems associated with areas that have been isolated from public and sustainble development in different parts of Europe. For achieving strong contacts and better understanding of each other's problems and the ways to solve them, the case study is a perfect learning ground for the future: for the youth of today who are the leaders of tomorrow. The most immediate and visible impact on the local environment will be achieved by contributing to the improvement of the lcoal area by cleaning the Kopu landscape reserve. The main working method will be interviews with leaders of the municipality, local private enterprises, and employees of nature and landscape reserves.
Background Information About Hiiumaa
Estonians often refer to the Island of Hiiiumaa as a natural paradise for its rural and quiet atmosphere, conducive to artistic and creative pursuits. Many artists and musicians retreat to this small, local nirvana, using its proximity to nature and purity as inspiration for their next endeavor.
The location of Hiiumaa on the Baltic Sea and its special natural features have a definite influence on the economic development of the island. Hiiumaa is situated iin the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. Ths shortest distance from the Estonian mainland is 22 kilometers. The Swedish coast lies about 250 km to the west, and the Finnish coast about 120 km to the north. Hiiu County is the smallest in Estonia, but the most forested - 70% of the island is covered with forests. Due to the fact that Hiiumaa is geologically young, the nature is extremely versatile; many rare species of plants are found on Hiiumaa. That is why there are 11 landscape reserves and 4 nature parks there.
In 2000, a project was started to establish a population of European mink on Hiiumaa Island - the largest refuge of European mink in the world. The European mink also belongs to the 1st category of species under protection, because this species is approaching extinction in Europe.
The Aim of the Project
The aim of the project is to introduce to youth the peculiarities of Hiiumaa, its natural values and tourism opportunities. It is also launched in order to:
Target Groups
Young people, 16 - 25 years old, from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Fifteen foreigners and fifteen Estonians would participate.
Time-Frame
The workshop would last one week.
Expected Results / Outcomes
As a result of the workshops, we expect to create a document where we make concrete suggestions to local authorities, enterprises and Nature Parks about what they should do to promote sustainability, how to make Hiiumaa attractive to tourists and at the same time keep its natural values. Participants will get motivation, inspiration and knowledge about how to promote sustainable development among their peers, and exploit natural resources in a more reasonable way.
Budget
| Preparation / Administration Cost | |
| office equipment | $35 |
| phone communications (fixed and mobile), 3 months | $83 |
| Costs for participants in Tallinn - 2 Days / 2 nights | |
| Meals - 2 breakfasts | $41 |
| Meals - 2 dinners | $156 |
| Transport | $28 |
| Transport 30 people to Hiiumaa and back | |
| Bus (round trip) | $456 |
| Ferry (round trip) | $52 |
| Bicycles on ferry | $25 |
| Car on ferry | $10 |
| Gasoline for the car | $69 |
| Meals in Hiiumaa | |
| Breakfast (6 days) | $249 |
| Lunch (6 days) | $373 |
| Dinner (6 days) | $249 |
| Accommodation in tents (Hiiumaa 5 days) | $41 |
| Subtotal | $1868 |
| VF Administrative fee | $186 |
| Total Requested from Virtual Foundation | $2054 |
| Contribution of Sorex | |
| Bicycle rent, 6 days on Hiiiumaa | $622 |
| Contribution of foreign participants | |
| Transportation to and from Tallinn, Estonia | $1037 |
| Accommodations in Tallinn | $1245 |
| Total Cost of Project | $4772 |