The tasks of the sub-projects are – organization of excursions in nature, lectures, seminars, exhibitions by environmental interpreters involved in the training courses of the project and working with concrete target groups, and preparation ofinformative materials.

Latvian Museum of Natural History;
Training Group led by the specialists of Children’s Environmental School;
Economy group;
Exhibition group;
22 environmental interpreters.

Address of administration: 3 Baznicas Str., Sigulda LV 2150, Latvia
Phone: +371 7974006
Fax: +371 7971344
Web address: http://www.gnp.lv 
E-mail: gnp@gnp.lv 

Address of Visitor’s Centre: 3 Baznicas Str., Sigulda LV 2150, Latvia
Phone: +371 7971345
Fax: +371 7971344
E-mail: ic@gnp.lv 

Visitor’s Center in Ligatne: 
Phone: +371 4153313

Gauja NP was founded in 1973, and it was the first national park in the territory of Latvia at that time. It focuses mainly on the nature protection but it is also used for educational and leisure tourism. Its territory of 91745 ha is divided into five functional areas. The most important of them are nature reserves and restricted nature areas. Nature reserves take up a small but particularly valuable part of the Gauja NP, and access to these territories is restricted. 

Gauja NP includes the Primeval valley of the Gauja River and together with its tributaries it forms a particularly original landscape. On the banks of the Gauja, Amata, Brasla rivers, many smaller rivers and brooks there are the biggest Devonian outcrops in Latvia – sandstone cliffs, rocks and caves.

Forests cover 47% of the park territory. About 900 plant, 149 bird and 48 mammal species inhabit the territory of the Gauja NP. 

The territory of the Gauja NP comprises more than 500 monuments of history and culture – castle mounds, castles, churches, manors, water and windmills - as well as other archaeological, architectural and art monuments.

Tourists started to visit this area in the 19th century. Nowadays the main tourist attractions are Sigulda and Cesis towns, Turaida museum reserve, Araisi Lake fortress and Ligatne Nature Park as well as the most popular geological objects – Zvartes rock, Ergļu (Ergelu) cliffs and Sietiniezis rock. 

On the banks of the Gauja, Amata and Brasla rivers there are special campsites for water and car tourists.

Following activities are planned:
Meetings about the new Visitor Center and its exhibition.

Environmental activities in Kumelites

Planning and carrying out environmental activities

Environmental activities in Kumelites

Seminars in Gauja NP forestries

Revision of Gauja NP home page

On-going sub-project activities are:

preparing EI strategy for NVBR;

promote EI system creating in NVBR territory.

promote co-operation between governmental, non-governmental and private organisations in EI field.

promote involvement of local people in EI.

Tasks:

create programme for different target groups (schoolchildren, students and adults).

preparation of EI training course.

development of the Environmental Information Centre located in NVBR administrative center;

development of the exhibition concept.

brainstorming and collection of the ideas about exhibition “backbone”;

recognition of the sub-project resources.

Environmental Interpretation Center in Daugavpils University
Address: 13 Vienibas gatve, room 231, Daugavpils LV-5401, Latvia
Mob.phone: +371 9204795
E-mail: ilzah@dpu.lv

Nature Studies and Environmental Education Center in Daugavpils University (DIVIC) is a public non-profit organization founded in Daugavpils in December 21, 1993; registered in Riga by the Ministry of Justice in January 6, 1994. 
Within six years from its inception the small regional "green" organization center DIVIC has become an organization that works on the international and national levels. DIVIC has established branch centers in Riga, Varkava, Jurmala and other Latvian cities. 

The objectives of the seminar included:

to provide a common vision and understanding of the goal for the environmental interpretation in Latvia in the context of the project development objective;

to clarify the trainees current understanding about environmental interpretation;

to clarify trainees expectations and wishes from training

Three CES experts with a great experience in management of the international projects and framing environmental educational methodology – Laura Zvingule (leader of the training group, Inese Liepina un Inta Soma – together with Danish training experts Marianne Linnemann, Tage Madsen and Stig Noehr are organising and leading training courses for 22 environmental interpreters with an aim to increase participant’sexperience by this time, improve their skills and knowledge in the environmental interpretation, communication and methodology, as well as analyse their own actions 

Economy group have to elaborate proposals how to ensure economic pre-conditions for the permanent and sustainable operation of the? environmental interpreters after the project. Economy group is led by Latvian specialist in environmental economics and finances Janis Brunenieks, as well Arvids Barsevskis, Janis Strautnieks and Sandra Berzina are working in the group. The group is consulted by Danish specialist Torsten Anderson. Seminar (target group – local inhabitants and decision makers) about the strategies and methods for fundraising and financing of EI Service will be held on 14-17 of January 2002.

There will be organised four exhibitions in the Latvian Museum of Natural History, Gauja National Park, North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve and Environmental Education Research Center in Daugavpils University in spring and summer 2002. 

Exhibition group is led by Ilze Egle from Economic Institute, Latvia? Academy of Science. Exhibition specialists from all sub-projects also are engaged as well as Astrida Rogule (Latvia) and Leif Schack-Nielsen (Denmark).

Seminar (target groups for the environmental interpreters – local and foreign families) on environment interpretation through the exhibitions, leaflets and interpretation boards was held in the 1-4 of October 2001.