Joining hands for education
Having heard of the Intercontinental Trout Masterclass, Thomas Schmidt of the German Universität Koblenz-Landau started following the posts on our blog with interest. Since this University is presenting itself through the slogan Bildung-Mensch-Umwelt (Education-Man-Environment) it were the ITM’s approach and its results which made Thomas invite CTCF to their interdisciplinary “Colloquium of Environmental Sciences”. Last week René Beaumont met Thomas in Landau, and gave a presentation to the audience: colleagues, students and other interested persons. At this occasion he went into the pillars of CTCF’s policy, ongoing and upcoming projects, and –in depth- the educational and pedagogical aspects of the Masterclass.
The next day the two visited a couple of conservation sites in the Palatinate Forest (Pfälzerwald) in the southwest of Germany. In this low-mountain region, in fact Landau’s back yard, the University is working on habitat restoration for the sakes of distinct indigenous trout populations. Also, the Palatinate Forest was the initial area of extensive genetic studies on brown trout by Thomas and his colleagues. Moreover, an educational space is being constructed along the banks of a creek in one of the project areas. While discussing the achievements in the field of monitoring fish movements and migrations in small streams, the system and methodology used included, the pilot project in Spain was brought to the attention. When it came to the ambition to draw up an entertaining and eventful program for the education of primary school children in the wider perspective of ecosystem understanding and conservancy, the parallel with the University’s educational objectives was too obvious to ignore. It was agreed that the Landau University, Rios con Vida, and CTCF investigate joining forces in order to develop, test, and make available such a program format.
Impression of the conservation works in the Palatinate Forest (in German) Rheinpfalz Bachforellengenetik Pfaelzerwald
Universität Koblenz-Landau
AEMS Rios con Vida
Picture: trout from the Kaltenbach, Palatinate Forest
