News
Every academic year, the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation (IRSNC) brings the Mura River to life through the Mura Festival, a dynamic series of educational and awareness-raising events, in collaboration with project partners and local organisations. As part of the LIFE RESTORE for MDD project, the 2024–25 edition of the festival consisted of ten events and welcomed around 350 participants, ranging from curious schoolchildren to engaged university students and teachers.
A central focus of the festival is environmental education for young people. Through close collaboration with local schools, IRSNC and its partners have established a tradition of hosting interactive learning experiences that explore the richness of the Mura River and its surrounding habitats. More than 300 students took part in hands-on workshops and nature science days, exploring topics ranging from forestry and river restoration to biodiversity and crafts made from natural materials. These activities were made possible through the contributions of project partners, including Slovenian State Forests Ltd. (SiDG) and the Slovenian Water Agency (SWA), as well as various NGOs.
Alongside student-focused events, the festival offered an educational seminar for teachers, organised in collaboration with the Interreg project deProfundis. Held in two parts, the seminar covered mofettas and the Mura River and presented nature-based learning teaching methods. The programme included field workshops on birds, aquatic invertebrates, fish and river ecosystems, offering teachers a toolkit of ideas with which to engage their students with the natural world.
In order to reach a wider audience, the LIFE RESTORE for MDD project was showcased during a guided educational walk through Murska Šuma, the largest complex of floodplain forests along the Slovenian section of the Mura River. This biodiversity hotspot serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of protecting and celebrating the Mura River and its surrounding habitats.
