Introduction of the project
In the academic year 2019/20 students of the first, second and third grades of Gospic High School were given the opportunity to participate and compete in the state project "At the School of Open Cohesion". The projects we are studying are taking place in the centre of Lika-Senj County - our beautiful Gospic. The project “Promoting Sustainable Development through Revitalization and Increasing the Attractiveness of the Jasikovac Forest” was chosen because of its proximity to the site of the project implementation . The theme of the project itself was interesting , as it refers to spending free time outdoors, in nature. We love nature and live in an area surrounded by it. We strive to make people aware of the importance of the Jasikovac Forest for our societal development, and to encourage them to spend time in nature and care for their health. In addition, it is interesting that we can follow the project directly on site due to the fact that it is still being implemented.
The name of our group - Oakers, is easy to explain. Namely, it comes from the English word oak (oak), which actually represents the oldest and most common plant culture in the Jasikovac forest.
Our logo contains all the symbols that symbolize the most important determinants of our project, so the logo contains blue, as well as stars as a symbol of the European Union, then the oak tree which is most represented in the Jasikovac forest, as well as the name of our team.
Our high school group of about thirty students initially studied reports on two projects - the Development Centre and the Jasikovac Forest. After extensive research and study, each of the two groups into which we split according to project interests , gave a brief presentation with interestingly designed posters. The main goal of the Development Centre, which has invested HRK 18,608,890.41 in grants, is to help and educate young entrepreneurs, which would ultimately retain the young, enterprising population in Lika-Senj or our beautiful country Croatia . The Centre would provide many much-needed services, most notably mentoring and professional guidance, as well as connecting small businesses across the state. The expected outcomes of opening this Centre are : to create a larger number of independent companies; and to attract larger investors to the region of Lika , which is full of untapped potential.
The Jasikovac Forest Area is a protected area in the Republic of Croatia and bears the title of Park Forest. The area is protected because of the centuries-old age of oaks in the area, it managed to maintain that title for a long time despite three major deforestations during the occupation of Gospić. Another interesting fact : the oldest tennis club in Croatia - Gospić 1900 - was also established in the area. Cross-country races with special programmes are organized each spring for children and adults within the forest . The main idea of the project, financed by EU funds in cooperation with the administration of the City of Gospić , is to transform the forest into an educational and recreation centre that will restore its past glory as one of the most important picnic areas of Gospić. Detailed forest management is planned - setting up smart benches, building an amphitheater and stage and a fitness training center, renovating old trails and building new ones, installing lighting and waste bins in such a manner that it does not harm the forest ecosystem. The project would ultimately improve the quality of time spent outdoors, increase the number of visitors and improve the maintenance of the forest itself.
We decided to research and monitor the Jasikovac project because of the proximity to the forest. Furthermore, high school students can relate to the theme of the project in Jasikovac much bettter than to the contents of the Development Centre. We will be actively involved in the landscaping project and will provide all possible assistance to the project implementers in the hope that this will accelerate the development of innovations that will be introduced into the permanent composition of the forest.
The goals for our research will relate to the public perception of the project , whether they consider it positive or not, the reasons for such an opinion, whether they intend to visit the forest after the project is completed. In addition, we will monitor the success of the project in terms of implementation of activities according to the hologram from the project documentation. We will investigate the extent to which the project contributes to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. On the basis of all the research we want to determine how successful the project is and to encourage citizens of the importance of preserving natural heritage and healthy lifestyles.
In the lectures we searched for information that would be needed for our research. We found summaries of the project, discovered the project partners ( HGSS, LEA, JU for nature protection, Gospić City, Lika-Senj county), a list of interactive contents, popular activites within the forest (bird watcing, cross Jasikovac). In March 2019, a study called ˝Communication strategy˝ was produced with graphs and statistics presenting polls. The public was surveyed about their personal opinion of the project in Jasikovac forest. Furthermore, announcements about organised events and new activities within the forest can be found on local portals and web pages such as Lika Online, Gs press, TV Loki, Lika express. Gospić city- http://gospic.hr/ , LEA- http://www.lea.hr/