Hello everybody! My name is Anna, I am 27 years old, and I am doing my IVY experience as a Project Partner in the Interreg Europe project GREENHEALTH in the offices of the EUROPARC Federation.
GREENHEALTH objectives
GREENHEALTH project aims to make EU regions more biodiversity-resilient by improving the management of European Protected Areas through strengthening links as well as strategic & operational collaboration between biodiversity protection and human health & well-being.
This objective will be reached through removing environmental barriers and designing friendly spaces, encouraging people to take care of nature and of their own health, and incorporating human health initiatives into Protected Area Programmes.
The final goal of the project is to improve regional public policies and to create the right regional contexts to maximize the links between Protected Areas and health and well-being.
The Partnership and its role
The project partnership is composed of 7 partners from 7 different countries: Spain, Poland, Croatia, Ireland, Slovakia, Sweden, Germany.
Each regional partner creates “Local Living Labs” to engage with other entities that can support them achieving the project objectives. They include the biodiversity and medical / public health professionals primarily, including academia. Social sector as well as sports, and sustainable tourism are equally important to create an “enabling system” in support of the policies we aim to achieve.
EUROPARC role
My host organisation, EUROPARC, covers the role of advisory Partner, supporting the partners through the Healthy Parks, Healthy People Europe Commission. The latter provides subject matter expertise, which includes the use of the Healthy Parks Healthy People Toolkit, which represents a methodological compass to identify good practices and areas that can help supporting public health and conservation outcomes through appropriate use of natural assets.
… and finally: My role!
I am in charge of the communication and dissemination activities, both through our project’s website and our social media channels. I decided to apply for this opportunity because I was interested in discovering how an Interreg project works from the inside, and I think that thanks to IVY I am gaining a lot of professional expertise, while improving my skills. Plus, I grew up in a Protected Area and I am passionate about sustainable development and nature conservation and restoration, therefore having the chance of being part of the EUROPARC team has been very inspiring and empowering!
– Anna, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Europe project “GREENHEALTH” at EUROPARC Federation
