Since 2002, the Estonian national curricula have included the cross-cutting theme ‘The environment and sustainable development’ Aristokli Hrebtov, the inspector of the schools of Saaremaa and the founder of the Saaremaa Society of Friends of Nature (founded in 1913), prepared a detailed circular letter for schools, titled ‘For the preservation of nature works’, in which he called on people to...

Restrictions may seem incomprehensible and sometimes annoying, but they contribute to the preservation and enhancement of biodiversity and, ultimately, to the improvement of the surrounding environment There is a long list of restrictions. In a very general sense, they can be divided into the following categories: restrictions on movement in protected areas and species protection sites...

The purpose of the marked trails in nature is to introduce natural values to hikers both in and outside protected areas There is no explanation for the meaning, differences, and similarities of the phrases ‘hiking trail’ and ‘nature trail’. It seems that no need for that has arisen. The Estonian Ramblers’ Association’s Matkaseletussõnastik (Explanatory dictionary on hiking) says that a hiking...

What is environmental awareness? How about environmental education and nature education? Environmental awareness is the understanding of the relationship and interaction between man and the environment and the willingness to take them into account in daily activities and choices; an environmentally conscious person bases their decisions on scientifically proven points of view and relevant...

It is easier for both people and animals to move along a trail. Trails connect people, animals, and places With the help of marked trails in nature, it is possible to introduce natural values to hikers both in and outside protected areas. Trails direct visitors away from places where, from a nature conservation point of view, it would be better if people did not go. The Environmental Board, the...

The twenty-first century is a century of environment, climate, and nature protection – every purposeful activity that protects nature and contributes to preserving the living environment is worth following With simple actions, or occasionally lack of action, you can help preserve habitats and species. Both everyday nature-friendly behaviour as well as active participation in nature conservation...

A new Atlas of the Estonian mammals is being prepared, which will provide an up-to-date overview of the distribution of all wild mammal species in Estonia WATCH the actively updated MAP STORY of the mammal atlas HERE. More than 20 years have passed since the previous compilation and collection of a comprehensive mammal distribution data set. Major changes in land use (suburbanisation, changes in...

How to mitigate the impact of climate change on the natural environment? Climate change in the natural environment is mainly manifested in extreme changes in air temperature and precipitation: changing weather conditions, such as floods, high temperatures, and droughts, are changing current ecosystems permanently. More adaptable species will survive (for example, the jackal will arrive in Estonia)...

What changes in biodiversity will climate change bring? Global warming is caused by the greenhouse gases (CO 2, CH 4, N 2O, F-gases) released into the atmosphere, which create the greenhouse effect [1]. These gases do not release the thermal radiation from the Earth back into the atmosphere and the heat is reflected back to Earth [2]. Due to global warming, extreme weather events – storms, floods...

Welcome to the introduction page of the nature observations database! We invite everyone to enter their nature observations (the first springtime common hepatica, the roe deer you saw, the nightingale you heard, etc.) in the nature observations database. This database has been created for all nature lovers who want to keep a so-called nature observations diary and share their observations with...