One of the activities of the Naturavita project is the establishment of educational infrastructure, education and awareness raising as part of which the reconstruction of the forest house “Podravlje” owned by Croatian Forests, which was destroyed and devastated during the Homeland War. After the public procurement procedure, on June 8, 2020, construction works worth HRK 2,836,278.72 began, which are 85% financed by EU funds.The works will last 180 days and are performed by the company Iver d.o.o. from Čepin near Osijek.
The Podravlje Forest House will be reconstructed and equipped as the “Podravlje” Educational and Visitor Center located in the area of the Mura-Drava Regional Park. The center, with an area of 147 m2, will primarily be used for education on selected topics, interpretation of space and biodiversity of the Mura – Drava Regional Park and raising awareness of the values of sustainable management of protected areas and ecosystem services. The center will place emphasis on the education of school children and youth, but will also serve as a place for ongoing education of the general public and all interested groups (hunters, fishermen, forest owners,…). It is important to emphasize that the forest house will be reconstructed so that the future Center will be infrastructurally and energy independent.
Within the building, a boiler room will be set up on pallets for heating the house and sanitary hot water, water supply will be solved by drilling wells and installing a treatment system, while sanitary water drainage will be solved by installing a biological purifier. In order for the Center to be energy independent, the electricity supply will be solved by installing solar collectors on the roof of the building and batteries.
We look forward to the completion of construction work that will enable further activities to be carried out, all with the aim of improving public awareness of mine hazards, biodiversity, the importance of sustainable forest management, forest land, water and water-dependent ecosystems.
