STATUS: ON-GOING

PROJECT DURATION: September 2023- September 2024

Challenge

The Ayvalık Islands Nature Park (17,950 hectares), which is one of the designated Important Natural Areas in Turkey, predominantly consists of island and marine habitats, making it a key habitat for the conservation of seabirds. However, the Ayvalık Islands have not been systematically studied in terms of breeding/migratory birds in the marine and island ecosystems until now. This lack of data makes it difficult to conduct effective nature conservation and area protection efforts and weakens the capacity of NGOs and other stakeholders in the face of increasing usage pressures.

Solution

The project will investigate the biodiversity of the Ayvalık Islands and the marine area, identify threats, conduct impact assessments, and raise awareness among school-age students in Ayvalık based on the preliminary findings. The project focuses specifically on bird research, as birds are flagship species that provide valuable insights into the ecosystem and are relatively easy to study.

Activities

• The field research: investigation of other bird species’ breeding and migratory activities, as well as recording other fauna groups such as the Mediterranean monk seal .
• Raising awareness among the local community, especially the youth, about the species present in the conservation area.
• Storing data in scientific database, such as eBird, as open-source information contributed by citizen scientists.
• Biology and Bird/Nature Observation Training for Primary and Middle School Students in Ayvalık for a total of 300 students (100 primary school and 200 middle school students) in two schools in Ayvalık to introduce and educate them about biodiversity and bird/nature observation.

 

Outputs

Communication activities and social media campaigns will be conducted to raise awareness. Key outputs will be used by the Ayvalık Nature Conservation and National Parks Directorate for educational and awareness-raising activities targeting different audiences. The dissemination of findings through various channels aims to increase awareness and foster a greater love for nature among the general public

 

Our grantee: BBOM-Ayvalik – Ayvalik Another School is Possible Education Cooperative, established in 2017 with the aim of promoting equality, freedom, social justice, sensitivity, pluralism, ecological thinking, creativity, and scientific values in the field of education throughout the Ayvalık district.