From lectures by botanists and experts in the field of forest protection, last weekend students from Trupal and Nis continued collecting plants for the herbarium in nature near Niška Banja and online socializing with peers from Bulgaria, say the organizers from the Center for Social Innovation NIIT.

In addition to new knowledge about woody and shrubby plants, 25 young people shared their experiences with Bulgarian partners and students from Botevgrad at a virtual conference, organizers say.

The focus of the activity was on touring the surroundings of Nis, so the students had the opportunity to visit Kamenički Vis and the Cerjan Cave, as well as to see and learn the flora characteristic of the vertical arrangement of forests. Forests of beech, oak and cera, but also hawthorn, black wormwood and frost, are just some of the plant species that students had the opportunity to see – they say from NIIT.

The indispensable part of the weekend and socializing with young people passed with the sounds of the guitar, and this activity was organized, the organizers add, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic brings isolation and alienation.

Like last week when young people studied and socialized in nature, this week’s activity was organized within the EU cross-border cooperation project, in which the partners are NIIT Center, YMDRAB from Botevgrad, as well as the Forest Institute from Sofia.

The project is co-funded by EU through the Interreg-IPA CBC Bulgaria–Serbia Programme.

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union through the Interreg-IPA CBC Bulgaria-Serbia Programme, CCI No 2014TC16I5CB007. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of NIIT and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union or the Managing Authority of the Programme.