On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the associations WWF Adria and Argonaut presented a new tourist signal and thus marked the end of the project “And let Lokva live”.
In Jezera on the island of Murter, on the World Tourism Day on September 27, 2021, the Argonauts Association, in cooperation with WWF Adria, set up the first brown signal board in Croatia with a wetland icon pointing to the Lokve location. A signpost pointing to Zlarinska Lokvica has also been set up, and we look forward to seeing the continuation of that trend. “Despite the great benefits offered by our natural rivers and wetlands, it is estimated that as many as 64 percent of the world’s wetlands have disappeared in the last hundred years. Wetland habitats on islands, which are ‘islands within islands’ and rich oases of biodiversity, are particularly endangered and often remain undiscovered. This was the main motive to design an icon in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the Zlarin and Jezera tourist boards, and the Hyla, Argonaut, and Tatavak associations, which will now adorn the tourist and information boards of Croatian wetlands, “she said. on the island of Murter Matea Jarak from WWF Adria.
The project “And let Lokva live” was organized and implemented by the Argonauts Association, and the event marked the successful completion of the event. On Thursday, September 23, 2021, the sixth and last workshop was held as part of the project, which aimed to inform the teachers of the Elementary School Murterski škoji about everything that was discovered and worked on in previous workshops. The students shared their impressions, which they liked the most, and warning of the great threat and even greater importance of wetlands, invited teachers to come with their students to Lokva and hold field classes there to spread love and awareness of wetland conservation to more generations. As part of the project, with the help of the Jezera Tourist Board as a project partner, we set up a trash can around the old well and a bench with a QR code (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CUu0iJIWLK-kbP22LankbkPdytgPYrB2?usp = sharing). On it, teachers, parents, passers-by or tourists can find all digital products created through 6 workshops of the project “And long live Lokva”. In order to encourage teachers to do fieldwork, the QR code includes, among other things, the announced Preparation for extracurricular activities. What the participants of the workshops are very proud of is the film they made together. You can watch it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRHyLxqHe2Y&t=3s&ab_channel=ArgonautaMurter or find it on the QR code. In addition, in the period from April to the end of September, project participants explored the flora, fauna and microscope of Lokva, photographed it, noticed the importance of wetlands and their great endangerment, made birdhouses and insect hotels to promote its biodiversity, clean they made it out of garbage, they wrote
official e-mail to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and nominated a pond for the Ramsar Convention, revealed interesting facts about the history of Lokva, Jezera, and the island of Murter tried themselves in the roles of screenwriter, director, sound engineer, actor, and successfully made his first film.
Placing signs with the first icon for wetlands in Croatia is the perfect end to a wonderful project like this one on Lake Lokva. We hope that this is the beginning of the greater engagement of all actors in the local community around the protection and sustainable use of this valuable natural and tourist resource, for the town of Jezera and the entire island of Murter. – they say in Argonauta.
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