Fruska Gora and Djerdap National Parks, along with Sicevacka Gorge Nature Park, will become the first protected areas in Serbia to establish permanent volunteer teams. For the first time, volunteers will work within professional programmes tailored to the specific needs of each area.
These programmes are being developed by experts with extensive knowledge of EU and national legal frameworks regulating volunteering, in close cooperation with magers of protected areas. They will be implemented, within the “Volunteers for Nature” project led by Young Researchers of Serbia (YRS) together with partners Environmental Protection Engineers from Novi Sad and Team 42 from Leskovac.
Representatives of the national park administrations note while there has been volunteer interest in the past, the introduction of permanent teams will significantly increase the continuity and effectiveness of nature conservation efforts.
On the occasion of International Volunteer Day, December 5, Mrs Tanja Petrovic, Executive Director of Young Researchers of Serbia, highlighted that more than 2,000 young people participate in YRS programs each year and invited citizens to join:
“We are now working to create permanent volunteer groups that will systematically contribute to the conservation and restoration of nature in protected areas. We invite all interested individuals to contact us and join the first volunteer database focused on nature.”
In the forthcoming period, volunteer groups will be formed based on proximity to protected areas of nature. Their activities will include forest protection, habitat restoration, control of invasive species, visitor education, and other field based tasks, essential for nature conservation.
Nature volunteering is a well-established practice in the European Union, particularly in light of the new Nature Restoration Law, through which the EU has set ambitious goals for ecosystem restoration by 2030. Although Serbia continues to face challenges in developing a comprehensive system for environmental protection, the establishment of permanent volunteer teams represents an important step forward.
The “Volunteers for Nature” project is being implemented with the support of the European Union until the end of 2027. More information and applications to the volunteer database are available on the platform:
These activities are carried out within the project “Volunteers for Nature,” implemented by Young Researchers of Serbia in partnership with Team 42 and Environment Engineering Group. The project is funded by the European Union.
