Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
1of2
Pomerie Lake
Building of artificial nesting islands directly promotes reproduction of these bird species. During the holidays carried out jointly with us from 1997–2007 the number of nesting Sandwich Terns increased from 6 pairs to over 450 pairs in 2002 and over 1000 by 2004. The Bulgarian and international community regard these conservation activities as highly successful. The co-operation between Green Balkans and us have established a long-lasting tradition. So far, 13 conservation holidays have been carried out in Pomoriisko Lake, creating lasting personal relations and friendships with local people both on the project and when they return to the Lake.
The joint work of us and Bulgarian volunteers conserving bird diversity of the lake has been critical in promoting the idea of practical conservation locally. To locals, seeing people putting effort into the protection of something that is of global importance and yet so close to them, is encouraging further involvement in the conservation of their rich environment. Participating directly in constructing artificial islands, local students get involved in the idea of conserving biodiversity both locally and globally. On the 10th anniversary the conservation holiday was held under the patron of the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria General Angel Marin. He opened the holiday and took part in the first chain carrying construction material. Attracting public figures has helped raise the local and national interest in global biodiversity conservation.
As the UK's biggest environmental volunteering charity, our aim is to make the maximum contribution to the communities and places we work in and we always work with a local partner organisation. These are unique holidays in a unique place. Working directly with the Green Balkans staff, volunteers and local communities you'll have the chance to experience Bulgaria in a way no other holiday can offer. Living, laughing and working as a group, you're not only changing the world, you'll change your life.
Wild Frontier Conservation
The primary target species of this project is the Imperial Eagle. This is a globally threatened species, ranked Category SPEC-1 in the World List of threatened birds. It is on IUCN’s Red List (VU C1), and is protected by the Bern Convention: Annex II; Bonn Convention: Annexes I and II; CITES Convention: Appendices I and II; National conservation status: Bulgarian Biodiversity Act Appendices II and III; and the Bulgarian Red Data Book. According to bibliographic data, at the end of the 19th century there were 1,824 breeding pairs in Bulgaria.
The Imperial Eagle used to be one of the commonest birds and preferred breeding on isolated trees in arable lands near settlements. Nowadays, the Imperial Eagle population is estimated at about 25-30 pairs. More than 90% of its breeding sites are concentrated in the project target area. In 2007, there were 14 breeding sites known in the Bulgarian part of the mountains, and 3 breeding sites in the Turkish part. This sub-population is considerably isolated, as the nearest breeding sites are located in Macedonia, Western Serbia, and Hungary. To the East, the nearest breeding sites are in Asia. This subpopulation and the related territory are consequently of key significance for linking (exchanging genetic material) and providing entirety of the European and the Asian populations!
The commitment of two big NGOs - Green Balkans and BTCV - in supporting the region will greatly assist with this. By basing our project and accommodation in the village we aim to have a direct positive effect and further demonstrate the potential for development of sustainable nature friendly tourism. As the UK's biggest environmental volunteering charity, our aim is to make the maximum contribution to the communities and places we work in and we always work with a local partner organisation. These are unique holidays in a unique place. Working directly with the Green Balkans staff, volunteers and local communities you'll have the chance to experience Bulgaria in a way no other holiday can offer. Living, laughing and working as a group, you're not only changing the world, you'll change your life
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
