Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
Work with school classes
At present, the Park Directorate supports two programs with high-school classes
from Dupnitza and Blagoevgrad. Under the Children Without Drugs Programs,
jointly initiated with the Regional Sanitation Inspectorate, Blagoevgrad, school
pupils and park personnel are carrying out a joint afforestation campaign. Under the
other program, dubbed Socrates, RMNP staff organizes a five-day eco-school in the
Park territory for children of Hristo Botev High of the city of Dupnitza. Park cleanup
campaigns have been organized with students from the Clothing and Footwear
Technical College, the Food and Beverage College and Evlogi Georgiev High, all
based in Dupnitza. The Directorate also supports programs for pre-school and grade
school children, e.g. of the Dr. Theodora Miladinova Day Care Center and Averkii
Popstoyanov Comprehensive School of the town of Rila. It has initiated an ecology
circle at the school in Rila town, which not only provides children with the basics of
ecology as a science but also with concrete, real-life examples of environmental
protection measures in the territory.
Field educational activities
There are several specially designed dendrology trails in the territory of RMNP, with
signs and information boards placed at popular spots along their length to provide
basic information about the tree species encountered throughout the park.
Other information boards have been placed at different sites around the Park
presenting the basic facts about the territory, as well as the ground rules of public
behavior within it. The rivers and creeks are properly signposted with their names; so
are some distinct localities and sites within the Park.
Educational activities for academic institutions
Kirilova Polyana locality, Eleshnitza and some other spots in the territory of RMNP
and the neighbouring territory, including Rila Monastery Forеst Reserve are used for
the annual student practices of different schools of higher learning. Among these are
the following institutions:
University of Sofia, Department of Biology
Since 1990 the Faculty of Biology (FB) of Sofia University has been holding on a
regular basis its annual practices in the territory of what is today RMNP. The point of
these practices is for students to recognize at a glance plants and animals, and to learn
about the main peculiarities of some species and ecosystems. Most of the expenses
(travel, accommodation, food) are covered by FB. The number of participants is
about 125 every year, spending 10 days in the field. The nearby Hotel Eleshnitza is
used for accommodation. Zoology students have their practices along the valley of
the River Eleshnitza to the north, as well as in parts of the Park territory south of the
hotel; while botanists use Kirilova Polyana locality and different parts of the Rila
Rila monastery Nature Park
ManaegmentPlan - Draft
2004 - 2013
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