Making an Application

Nature Exchange 4 – Managing our Cultural and Heritage Assets   (NET4) Erasmus+ Key action 1 Adult Education project The NET project aims to improve staff competencies and add a European dimension to nature, conservation, interpretation and environmental management for Scottish managers, trainer’s, advisors and training planners.  ARCH work with a consortium of Scottish organisations to deliver the NET programme.

We are running 17 week-long courses in 12 European countries in 2020. Please read below to find out more about the courses and the application procedures.

We have 2 programmes running in 2020. The NET Programme (Managing Our Natural and Cultural Heritage Asserts) has been providing high quality and innovative training opportunities to Scottish heritage professional for the past 5 years. In 2020 there will be 13 week-long courses in 12 European countries covering topics from forestry and agro-forestry to turf building and coastal zone management. Click here for more information on the NET Programme. 2020 also sees the first of our STEM courses in Traditional Skills and Sustainable Materials with an exciting range of learning opportunities from the Baltic to the Atlantic and rural Transylvania to Lublin’s Jagiellonian Fair. Click here for more information on the STEM Programme.

NET & STEM are funded by Erasmus+ and supported by the UK National Agency, ECORYS.

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Application Information

Consortium: both the NET and STEM programmes are run through consortiums of Scottish cultural heritage, nature conservation and community organisations. You can find out which organisation are part of the NET and STEM consortium in the project section of this website. Each of the consortium partners promotes the courses through their own internal networks and via this website. Please ensure that you have the permission of your line manager before applying for a NET or STEM course.

*Please Note* SNH staff have an internal HR process. Please contact us to express an interest in any of the courses but you must complete the internal SNH process before you submit a full application. The course information will be available on the SNH intranet in January 2020.

Application Form: we ask all participants to fill in an application form which asks why you want to take part, how it fits with you and your organisations training needs, and how you would plan to report on the learning and share it with your networks in Scotland.

Preparation Meeting: we ask all participants to attend a preparation meeting to make sure that all the course requirements and logistics are clear, to introduce examples of best practice in reporting and dissemination and for the group to meet each other before they travel. The meetings are generally in the central belt (Perth, Stirling, Glasgow or Edinburgh).

Reporting & Dissemination: one of the strengths of the NET programme has been the range and quality of reporting from the courses. There is no set format for the reporting and we encourage participants to think of the best ways to communicate key messages to their own audiences and networks. All reports are shared via this website and you can view the reports from 2019 and use the search function to retrieve reports from previous years. Previous participants have used written reports, blogs, flims, GIS Storymaps, policy recommendations for Scotland, visual and audio diaries.

Course Lists 2020

Please be aware that the dates of courses can change by 1 or 2 days in either direction due to flight availability.

NET (Managing Our Natural and Cultural Heritage Assets)

Click here to download the full course list for NET 5 2020

Click here to download an application form for NET 5 2020

CYPRUS (2-9 Mar 2020) Application Deadline 31 Jan 2020, Preparation Meeting Date: 14 Feb 2020: Village Voices: sustainability & identity in rural Cyprus

NORWAY (NINA) (April 2020), This course is not open for application. We hope to organise an open application course to NINA in September: Village Voices: sustainability & identity in rural Cyprus

SPAIN Fundación Monte Mediterráneo (20-27 April 2020), Application Deadline 7 Feb 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 26 Mar 2020: Sustainable Farming & Agroforestry in the Dehesas of Andalucia

SLOVAKIA Lišov Museum (30 Apr to 7 May 2020), Application Deadline 2 Mar 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 1 Apr 2020: Exploring Community Heritage in Southern Slovakia

BULGARIA Devetaki Plateau Association (17 – 24 May 2020), Application Deadline 2 Mar 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 24 Apr 2020: Community Engagement & Rural Development in the Devetaki Plateau

NORWAY Evenstad (May/June 2020), Application (please email an expression of interest & we will contact you when the course dates are finalised): Sustainable Hunting, Predator Management & Cross-Border Conservation

ICELAND Byggđasafn Skagfirđinga (31 May to 7 June 2020), Application Deadline 31 Mar 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 15 May 2020: Cultural Context and Practical Skills in Turf Building

POLAND EUCC (Society for the Coast) (31 May to 7 June 2020), Application Deadline 31 Mar 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 14 May 2020: Coastal Zone Management in Poland: from pure nature to pure engineering

SLOVENIA VITRA (2 – 9 July 2020), Application Deadline 20 Apr 2020, 19 June 2020: Sustainable Farming & Food Inside Biodiversity & Protected Areas with Different Educational Approaches

ESTONIA Viitong/ Heritage Tours (12 – 19 Jul 2020), Application Deadline 20 April, Preparation Meeting Date 22 Jun 2020: Cultural & Natural Heritage of Coastal Estonians

ROMANIA (Association Satul Verde) (24 – 31 August 2020), Application Deadline 18 May 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 14 Aug 2020: Small Scale Sustainable Farming in Transylvania.

FINLAND (TAMK Tampere University of Applied Sciences) (30 August to 6 September 2020), Application Deadline 18 May 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 13 August 2020: Forestry in Finland: education, practice and conservation.

LATVIA State Forest Service of Latvia (6 to 13 September 2020), Application Deadline 18 May 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 12 August 2020: Forests, Wetlands, Green Infrastructure & Digital Technologies.

STEM (Traditional Skills & Sustainable Materials)

Click here to download the course List for STEM 2020

Click here to download the application form for STEM 2020

ROMANIA Fundatia ADEPT (12-19 June 2020), Application Deadline 31 Mar 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 22 May 2020: Linking rich biodiversity with traditional skills & rural development in Transylvania

ESTONIA Viitong/Heritage Tours (14 – 20 June 2020), Application Deadline 31 Mar 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 20 May 2020: Cultural heritage, traditional skills & nature: training & community engagement

POLAND Workshops of Culture Lublin (18 – 25 August 2020), Application Deadline 4 May 2020, Preparation Meeting Date 21 May 2020: Tradition, training & enterprise: cultural heritage & the Jagiellonian Fair

SPAIN XERA – Agency of Forest Based Industries Galicia (Date to be confirmed) Please email an expression of interest and we will contact you to complete a full application when the course dates are confirmed. Wood working and forest management: traditional and innovation in Galicia

The reports from 2019 are very useful in helping you to decide which programme is going to be most relevant to you. There are a range of individual reports and films, as well as a summary report of NET 5 in 2019. Visit the Reports section of the website.

What the grant covers:

Training costs and fees: to the host organisation

Accommodation:   During the study visit. It does not cover any expenses incurred prior to the visit commencing or at the end of the visit. (E.g. staying in a hotel before departure or being collected from a designated collection point.)

The NET programme visits some of the most beautiful and rural areas of Europe. Please be aware that there may be shared accommodation, usually twin room, during the visits. 

Food:   The Grant covers the main meals, or equivalent packed lunches etc., for the group throughout the study visit.  This will vary from country to country but the basics will always be covered.

Travel:  Travel during the study visit is covered by the grant. It does not include any travel expenses incurred by the participant prior to being collected from the meeting point or at the end of the study visit after leaving the rest of the group. If a participant wants to pursue activities outwith the group, in their free time, then they must pay for any travel expenses incurred themselves.

There is a small grant available to cover exceptional costs for those traveling from the Islands

Who can go on these courses?

These opportunities are open to ‘Adult Education Staff’ – that is – those who have a role in disseminating information, skills or informal training to   colleagues, staff, in their own or other organisations or to the public.

Do I need to take annual leave to go on these trips?

Please have a conversation with your line manager about this as individual situations will vary.

Insurance

Participants must purchase their own European Travel Insurance for the duration of the study visit. Participants must have a European health card available though the Post Office or online at www.dh.gov/travellers. We will await further details on how BREXIT will affect EHIC and travel insurance and share with participants at preparation meetings.

Links to Destination Countries

Wetlands Odra Delta Poland 9th to 16th June 2019

Ujście Warty National Park landscape is a mosaic of meadows, pastures and areas overgrown by sedge and reed. Odra Delta Nature Park is also an open laboratory where group of scientific realize works connected with flora, fauna, but also social aspects of nature conservancy.
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Forestry, Wetlands & Education, Finland 2nd to 9th September 2019

The NET 5 visit to Finland will focus on different aspects of forestry and biodiversity management and education. The group will also meet with Finnish forestry students to learn about environmental education and to share their skills from Scotland.
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Nature Study in Latvia 2nd to 9th September 2019

Feedback from Stuart Graham, SNH, NET4 2018: I thoroughly enjoyed the training trip to Latvia. I cannot believe how much we managed to fit into our week and the attention to detail to the arrangements from our host (Andis) was impeccable. The quality of all the individuals we met was of the highest quality and they were from the top levels of their respective organisations and devoted their time to share their knowledge. Our group stuck together well and we therefore learned from each other as well as our hosts. We also got a great insight to Latvian customs, tourism, diet/foods, history as well as landscape, wildlife and conservation.
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Biodiversity & Sustainable Development Slovenia 4 to 12th July 2019

Slovenia has rich biological and cultural diversity and covers a range of landscapes from Alpine to coastal. This course has a focus on the management of species and landscapes through sustainable development, including rural entrepreneurship.
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Bulgaria 5th to 12th October 2019

This structured study visit to Bulgaria will focus on the management of nature sites, traditional crafts and culture heritage as part of local development. The programme is hosted by the Devetaki Plateau Association and your guide will be Velislava Chilingirova.
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Cyprus Community Art & Culture History 23rd to 30th September 2019

Traditional crafts and skills are alive and well in the Cyprus community of Kato Drys. Here the local community are making traditional local products for sale which have real integrity and a true sense of place. All of these products and processes rely on the 4 pillars of sustainability, Cultural, Social, Environmental and Economic. This week long structured course looks at these traditional skills and products and considers why they have importance in our contemporary world. Participants will create a wall mural in Kato Drys.
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Consortium Members

Scottish Wildlife Trust, Woodland Trust, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority, Institute of Chartered Foresters, Plantlife International, Caithness Horizons, Earth Building UK and Ireland, John Muir Trust, RSPB, Historic Environment Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, Trees for Life, Scotland’s Rural College. Archaeology Scotland and  The Scottish countryside Rangers Association

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