May the 24th, 2024 – INA has awarded a generous 60,000 euros to fifteen commendable Croatian ecological projects.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Domagoj Puljizovic writes, 158 impressive ideas were submitted for the 11th competition of INA’s Green Belt for the co-financing of ecological projects. The 15 best projects according to the judgement of the six-member expert jury were awarded 60,000 euros at a ceremony in Zagreb this week.
The list of winning Croatian ecological projects included the Žumberak Nature Park Public Institution – Samoborsko Gorje, the Paklenica Mountaineering Society, the Sretno Dvoriste Association for the Protection of Animals, Nature and Society, the Žakanje Elementary School, the Centre for Education and Training in Zagreb, the Gospić Croatian Mountain Rescue Station, LAG Međimurski Doli i Bregi, the Depaul Hrvatska (Croatia) Association, Ilok High School, the Zeleni Plan Association, the Matija Petar Katančić Elementary School from Valpovo, the Grabarje Voluntary Fire Department, kindergartens Sabunić from Privlaka, Tratinčica from Brinje and Regoč from Babina Greda. Some of these Croatian ecological projects will be realised with the help of INA’s own volunteer club.
These award-winning Croatian ecological projects were all selected on the basis of clearly defined criteria that include the expansion of green areas, sustainability, the revitalisation of land and water areas, the preservation of biodiversity, the fight against climate change and education. In addition, the projects submitted by three kindergartens were presented on INA’s YouTube channel, where the criterion was the highest number of views.
Cassy Prskalo, an English teacher from Ilok High School, told us more about the Ilok Green Fingers project, awarded with just under 5,000 euros. “We plan to decorate and restore the garden behind our school, which was destroyed in a storm last year. We’re going to plant herbs in it, a colleague will build some little houses for insects, and a colleague from computer science will create an app that will monitor all of this. We’ll also include our students in everything, given that we’re educating agricultural technicians, agro-tourism technicians and computer technicians. Next week we plan to start decorating the garden,” she said.
Kristijan Brkić, director of the Žumberak Nature Park – Samoborsko gorje, is proud that they managed to secure 6,000 euros through a competition for the revitalisation of the yew habitat. “This is important to us because that tree is culturally and forestry significant for this park’s wider area. With the funds we’ve been provided with, we’ll be able to acquire and plant about 60 seedlings by the end of the year, because we wouldn’t have been able to do it with our own funds”, he concluded.
