NET Managing our Natural and Cultural Assets

Devised and Developed by Archnetwork

A new programme funded by Erasmus+

The NET project is a Key Action 1 project for Staff. It is funded by the Erasmus+ programme. NET offers training courses to those working within the natural and cultural heritage sectors. Staff are funded through this project to undertake a training event, job shadowing, observation and training in a relevant organisation abroad.   The costs of international travel, accommodation and subsistence are covered by the Erasmus+ grant.

Erasmus+ is a European Union programme, managed in the UK by the British Council and Ecorys UK. They co-ordinate the UK programme for the benefit of participating UK organisations, and the individuals who are able to study, train, volunteer or gain work experience abroad through the programme. In the UK the Department for Business Innovation and Skills oversees the Erasmus+ programme. You can find out more about the UK National Agency and the programmes it offers at https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk

The Firm of ARCH (Archnetwork) was established in 2001 to provide training in the field of nature conservation, management and interpretation of natural and cultural heritage in Scotland and across Europe. It is best known for the “Nature Exchange” program and cultural exchanges involving “Heritage Interpretation and Sustainable Tourism” which links these sectors.

In the NET project ARCH has brought together a consortium of Scottish organisations which include Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Woodland Trust, RSPB, The Scottish Wildlife Trust. The National Trust for Scotland. Caithness Horizons.  John Muir Trust, SRUC, Lomond and Trossachs National Park, Cairngorms National Park and the Institute of Chartered Foresters, to work together under the new Erasmus+ banner.

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carolcrawford
carolcrawford

CLC Nature Exchange to Romania 2012

Houses in nearby villages are simpler in style, with wooden or metal doors often the only parts decorated. Roman and Turkish influences can be imagined. On day 1 we stopped in Ciclova Romana and Manuela went to collect sheep’s cheese from behind such a door. It was as if we’ve stepped back in time: green grass transported by horse drawn cart, hens pecking about, a cock crowing and the smell of mown hay and dung. When I went to primary school in the early 60s we passed a field with the last working horse; all farms had tractors by then. We hardly saw farm machinery in this part of Romania. Ten yards after the village of Ciclova Romana ends Ciclova Montana begins. We stayed there in a village house, within walking distance of forests, meadows and the Cheile Nerei National Park. We tried local produce and experienced other aspects of village life, e.g. as we ate our first meal we heard bells from cows being driven home for milking. One day the water pump broke and we brought in water from the well in the garden and used the toilet there (which may have emptied into the river which rushed […]
graemefindlay

Capercaillie in the Vosges Mountains. Joint Report

Capercaillie in Vosges. Joint Report The exchange was hosted by Arnaud Hurstel of Groupe Tetras Vosges (GTV) in France. The purpose of the trip was to look at the status of the capercaillie population in the Vosges Mountains and the LIFE project “Forests for Capercaillie in the Vosges”. We visited several capercaillie sites, including Special Protection Areas (Natura 2000) and National Nature Reserves for capercaillie, as well as state and private forests within the Vosges. During these site visits we met many people that were actively involved in capercaillie conservation. The main topics that were discussed were conservation and management measures for capercaillie with regard to forest biodiversity, timber production, recreational activities, tourism and hunting. This report gives a daily account from the participants of each day’s discussions.
Tom Hunter
Tom Hunter

Heritage Crossroads in Bulgaria

Arriving in Bulgaria, after a sleep-deprived day of flights via Paris and some so-so airline food, I had no real idea or picture of what awaited me in the week ahead. Would there really be rural peasants on a horse and cart? Would it be full of decaying Communist tower blocks? Would the food consist only of grilled meat? Well, after a week’s relentless tour through Bulgaria’s cultural heritage being led by our indefatigable guide Velislava Chilingirova (known as Velis), I can say quite definitively that, whilst all these stereotypes are there if you look for them, they are really not the story. Whilst Bulgaria is not a wealthy country by any means, the strong impression you get as a visitor is of quiet civility: culture here appears to be less of a luxury and more a part of daily life. I was travelling with five other people from across Scotland, who all had experience in different aspects of cultural heritage, from conserving and interpreting the historic environment to promoting cultural tourism and developing community craft skills. We were taking part in a programme entitled “Cultural Heritage Interpretation and Sustainable Tourism”, organised by ARCH (an independent Perthshire-based NGO) and funded […]
Helen Watkins
Helen Watkins

Sustainable Tourism in Bulgaria

  The 4am rendezvous at was tough but we bonded over coffee at horribly-early-o-clock in the departure lounge at Edinburgh airport, bleary-eyed but excited about our upcoming adventure. There were six of us, all involved in the Scottish heritage and culture sector. We were heading to Bulgaria, a country about which we each admitted we knew virtually nothing. Our visit was part of a scheme enabling cultural heritage professionals from across Scotland to visit other European countries, funded by the European Commission’s Leonardo da Vinci programme and organised by ARCH network. ARCH works in liaison with local partner organisations, in our case the Devetaki Plateau Association in Bulgaria, and Velis Chilingirova was our very excellent local guide. Cultural Heritage Interpretation and Sustainable Tourism in Bulgaria 22nd-29th June 2014 Helen Watkins, Glasgow Museums I work at Glasgow Museums where I am the Research Manager for history, working with the team of curators covering history, archaeology and World Cultures and also with external researchers and students using our collections. I was initially drawn to this trip by the material culture and the opportunity to visit museums and archaeological sites, curious about the interpretive methods used and how Bulgarian museums work with their […]
Stuart Holm

Forestry in Finland – 2nd-9th May 2015

Our first day saw us travel 50km north of our base in Tampere to Seitseminen National Park. Founded in 1982 and covering an area of 45.5km², the National Park is managed by the state owned enterprise Metsähallitus. Seitseminen National Park frames a mosaic of landscapes with a diverse mix of habitats which include; ancient forests, esker ridges & open bogs.
Elizabeth Auty
Elizabeth Auty

Norway 2015 Joint Report

The objective was to develop our understanding of conservation issues and exchange ideas through meeting experts and seeing practical examples of research and wildlife management in Norway. We also all had our own personal development objectives that we wanted to achieve. Our host for the week was Marius Kjonsberg, lecturer for the Applied Ecology and Agricultural Science Facility at the University of Hedmark. We were based mainly at the Evenstad campus, located in the south east of Norway. Marius was a fantastic host and managed to co-ordinate a great variety of topics and arranged for pertinent site visits and talks. We learnt a great deal that we hope to apply to the management of our own natural resources.
Stuart Eydmann

Bulgaria Net 2015 Stuart Eydmann

Erasmus+ Structured Training Course Devetaki Plateau Association ‘Understanding the cultural impact of ancient peoples and applying ancient skills’ Bulgaria 11th – 19th July 2015 My first visit to Bulgaria was in late summer 1974 as part of a trip I made through Eastern Europe. I was just about to enter my fourth and final year at Glasgow School of Art but was unsure about what career I wished to pursue. Crossing from the Danube Delta in Romania we spent some time by the Black Sea before heading inland and stopping at the ancient town of Tornovo: This made an immediate impression on me and helped cement my developing interest in smaller historic towns, their history and how they might be conserved and managed. Sofia I found a bit more overwhelming and quite unlike anywhere I had ever visited before: At that time I was also particularly struck by the music we heard as we travelled – Bulgarian folk music was pumped out of speakers on lampposts and played in railway and bus stations. On one occasion I fell asleep to the sound of women walking home past our camp site singing traditional songs in unison. I liked what I heard […]
Nina Turner
Nina Turner

Slovenia 2015 combined report

“There are some wonderful, passionate and committed people working to protect our biodiversity”. This report on the Slovenian exchange is contained in a single PDF file.
Kirsty Mcalister
Kirsty Mcalister

Bulgaria Cultural Heritage Visit, 2015 by Dr Kirsty McAlister

Our guide was Velislava Chilingirova, who turned out not only to be eminently knowledgeable and unfailingly skilled at group management, but also patient, generous, warm, funny and full of life; in short, a terrific ambassador not only for Bulgaria but also for the programme. Through Velis’s vast network of contacts, we as a group were privileged to be treated to site and museum visits that covered the full spectrum of Bulgaria’s heritage, all the while learning from practitioners who enthusiastically shared their expertise and experience. In addition, Velis made special arrangements to visit places and people not on the original programme;
Joseph Murray
Joseph Murray

Managing our Natural and Cultural Assets. Course in Bulgaria. Dr Joe Murray

A report of a NET visit to Bulgaria 2015 Introduction EARLY SATURDAY MORNING 11 July I set off to meet seven other people from similar professional backgrounds to my own, the arts, culture and heritage. All of us, in one way or another, involved in providing interpretation and learning for those who visit or interact with our respective organizations. We were chosen by Archnetwork in Scotland, part of Project NET, for an Erasmus+ funded Staff Education course in Bulgaria. The European Erasmus+ courses are to help transfer ideas and spread knowledge and good practice throughout the continent. It is a worthy ideal, and as a former academic now working in heritage learning, one I fully subscribe to. The aim of this visit is for us to come to understand the cultural impacts of ancient peoples on contemporary societies and how their ancient skills are still applicable today. But first we would have to see for ourselves the legacies of ancient Thracian, Macedonian and Roman cultures on art and architecture by means of the archaeology and ethnography of the places we visited, of which there turned out to be no shortage. We would also look at the history of the local peoples, […]
Lorraine Robson
Lorraine Robson

Bulgaria 11/07-19/07/2015 Cultural & Historical Exchange Visit

In July I took part in a structured study visit to Bulgaria visiting a wide range of cultural sites covering the full spectrum of cultural heritage: historic buildings and towns; archaeological sites; museums; traditional crafts and skills; and intangible heritage and traditions. My own profession is in art with an interest in architecture ancient and modern. The study visit offered a great opportunity to observe and learn about Bulgaria’s artistic and cultural heritage dating from the prehistoric finds held in museum collections, from Roman and Thracian archaeological sites visited, right up to current output from working artists in craft and fine art by studio visits (Milko Dachev, painter and Encho Gankovski, Ceramic artist). For me as an artist it was a great privilege to visit artists in their studios especially to find Encho, ceramic artist using similar hand-building techniques as my own albeit with different aesthetic influences. The celebration and preservation of traditional crafts have not been abandoned in Bulgaria. Artists continue to keep traditional craft practice alive in pottery, woodwork, braid, silversmith, etc. near Gabrovo, in the Etara architectural ethnographic complex. This is an open air museum; a recreated working village, with architecture style typical in the Bulgarian Renaissance […]
Elena Trimarchi

Bulgaria Project NET 2015 – Cultural and Historical Heritage Exchange – Elena Trimarchi

In July 2015, I took part in the NET funded Cultural and Historical Heritage Exchange in Bulgaria. Having never been so far East previously, I was really looking forward to this trip to discover a new culture and to get inspiration in my own work in heritage and culture. I arrived at the airport to meet my travelling companions. None of us really had any prior knowledge of the country, apart from two of our group who had visited Bulgaria in the 1970s, when it must have been a very different place. Arriving in Sofia in the early evening was a good way to acclimatise to the weather (apparently lots of countries experience consistent summer months – just not Scotland!). We met with our bags, our itineraries and lots of trepidation for the trip ahead. Velis met us at the airport and Ivo drove us to the hotel in Sofia and pretty soon it became apparent that this trip was going to be full of inspiring visits and interesting and welcoming encounters. Velis took us for a walk around the centre of Sofia that night and we visited the church of Sveta Pedka, the statue of Sofia, the old Communist […]
Christopher Waddell
Christopher Waddell

A Bulgarian Journey

As we entered, a choir struck up in the gallery and the sonorous tones of eastern sacred music filled the colossal space within. A service was on-going. There are no pews in Orthodox churches, the congregation standing or sitting along the wall benches. The air was thick with incense and the priest chanted as the choir sang. This was all very alien to me! The whole atmosphere took on a strangely hypnotic feel which was quite, in my opinion, unsettling. I noticed people; heads bowed and in tears, moved utterly in the midst of devotion to their faith and God. Two women in particular caught my attention; they were dressed very soberly and wore traditional headscarves. They sat on wall benches and rocked back and forwards, eyes closed in what appeared to be a sort of devotional trance. It all began to feel a bit oppressive and I went back out into the air and light. Faith and I have never been easy bedfellows
Eileen Cook

Bulgaria Exchange: Eileen Cook

A special mention must be given to the Troyan Museum of Crafts. This is an excellent museum at all levels. Situated in a building with a long history of its own, it details the history of the folk crafts of the region including textiles, pottery, metalwork and woodturning. The arrangement of the exhibits is chronological and the information detailed and accessible to all age groups. All the exhibits have detailed information about their place in both the geography and history of the region and give a good understanding of the development of land use in the region. Visitors can choose the level of detail they wish to achieve with a selection of ‘apps’ being available to those who wish to see more about how people actually worked in the sector. This facility is particularly attractive for school groups. I would love to be able to take my students to visit, to demonstrate what can be done. The National Exhibition of crafts in Oreshak provided a good complementary visit.
Zoe Clelland
Zoe Clelland

Case Study 1: Ujscie Warty National Park

Day one began with a journey from the airport at Poznan to Slonsk and the headquarters of the Ujscie Warty National Park. There we met the Park Director, Konrad Wypychowski, and were given a number of presentations on the administration and history of nature conservation in Poland, as well as an introduction to the habitats and species of the National Park. The context for nature conservation in Poland differs considerably from that of Scotland in terms of administrative structure. The tiers of administration include 16 Voyvodships (provinces) down to 2479 communities. This appears to result in more local decision making on some aspects of land management. Poland has 23 National Parks and these offer a very high level of protection across nearly 10% of the country. Ujscie Warty National Park is now 14 years old and was established in 2001 in an existing Landscape Park (a designation with less stringent controls). However, the area’s importance has been recognised since 1977 when the Slonsk Reserve was established and through designation as a RAMSAR site in 1984. After entry into the EU, the area was designated as a Natura 2000 site. The area is an amazingly rich wetland mosaic comprising polders, reedbeds […]

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