Project Name: Nature for Youth and Cities

Date: October 2016 - March 2019

Location: METU, Ankara

Role Of DKM: Coordinator

Project Partners: Middle East Technical University, Anima Mundi, Butterfly Conservation, Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly

Project Supporters: European Commission, National Agency

Contact: Tugba Can

Project Summary:

Sustainable cities is a topic gaining prime importance throughout Europe. A range of environmental action plans and policy instruments are put in place for this purpose. Establishing the link between urban population and nature is increasingly considered as an important way towards sustainable cities, as it also contributes to improving life quality and public health of the society. Yet, intense urbanization pressure is acting negatively on natural areas in and around the cities. Similar to many of the developing countries, the pace of urbanization has increased tremendously in Turkey. Ankara, the capital of Turkey, is also following this trend; existing urban lifestyle in Ankara is detached from nature to a great extent. Middle East Technical University (METU), located at the heart of Ankara, covers 4,500 hectares of area made up of mostly natural and pristine ecosystems. The presence of such a big natural reserve in the capital city is a unique commodity and it provides the possibility of experiencing and spending leisure time in nature. Yet, the importance of such an oasis in the middle of the city is not well recognized and benefited from. In this project, we aim at reestablishing the link between people of Ankara and nature through focusing on the youth of the city. We believe learning about nature around us is an essential component of establishing this link. Dynamism of young people and the access to young people through the campus are valuable opportunities. The project aims at benefiting from this experience via effective exchanges carried out to observe similar programs and activities in Europe. Partners from UK, Greece and Italy are selected in this respect. The project has 4 main activities:

1. Mobilization and capacity building of young people for experience sharing on nature education programs;
2. Preparation of educational programs;
3. Establishment of the “Nature for Youth and City Centre”;
4. Dissemination of the developed model in other selected university campuses and in available institutions.

Our method is based on training young people through a program developed by professionals on nature conservation, education, sustainability, and work with them closely. As a result of these capacity building activities, learning by doing, and peer to peer learning experiences, young people will significantly improve their skills and qualifications and will become trainers themselves. They will implement programs which have 5 modules (butterflies, plants, steppe ecosystems, sustainability and climate change). The activities of the project might lead to young people starting professional careers in fields of sustainability, nature conservation, and/or gaining a hobby contributing to healthier and happier life opportunities. In the long term, all these will feed into the establishment of sustainable cities in Turkey.