Youth camp on the European Green Belt successfully completed

In collaboration with BUND and BUNDjugend Thüringen, Örség National Park in Hungary and the municipality of Šalovci in Slovenia,organised an international youth camp in the Austria-Hungary-Slovenia border triangle under the BESTbelt project.

Young people in the tri-border area of Hungary, Slovenia and Austria connect with each other. © Eulefilm
Group photo in Korenica. © Eulefilm

From July 14 to 20, 2025, 18 young people from Germany, Hungary, and Slovenia explored nature and history together along the European Green Belt. On foot, by bike, and by rubber dinghy, they discovered relics of the former Iron Curtain, hiked through species-rich flowering meadows, and observed bats, butterflies, and moths. 

They visited borderland museums and community projects and helped process buckwheat tea and lavender soap.

This youth camp was made possible under the BESTbelt project “Borders separate – Nature unites: European Green Belt Youth Encounters”. 

“With our partners at the European Green Belt, we repeatedly find that the problems for nature conservation in the former border regions are similar and often require a lot of commitment and creative solutions,” says BESTbelt project manager Karin Kowol. "For example, many valuable flowering and wet meadows are being lost because traditional farmers are getting older and younger people are moving away. Climate change and the spread of invasive species are also contributing to this. But there are also committed local actors: enthusiastic young people who fall in love with these remote areas and exchange ideas with each other may be a glimmer of hope."

The cross-border camp is not the first of its kind. Young people from Hungary, Slovenia, and other countries were already at the European Green Belt in Thuringia in 2019 and want to return next year for the work camp near Titschendorf.

 

The project "Borders separate – Nature unites: European Green Belt Youth Encounters” is implemented by the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland, Landesverband Thüringen e.V. in collaboration with the Őrség National Park and the Šalovci county administration from October 2024 to September 2026 and is financed by the EU-funded BESTbelt project.

 

For more information contact: Karin Kowol; k.kowol(at)bund-thueringen.de (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland, Landesverband Thüringen e.V.)