Around 200 people, mainly families with children, took part in the festive programme in Madzharovo marking International Vulture Awareness Day. For another year, the town brought together nature lovers, local residents and visitors from across the country to celebrate these important “sanitarians” of nature.
The day began with birdwatching at the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) Eastern Rhodopes Conservation Centre. Participants had the opportunity to learn more about vultures and other birds in the area and observe them in their natural habitat.
In the town park of Madzharovo, the celebration continued with an educational and creative programme for children. A special guest was the hazel dormouse – mascot of the conservation initiatives – who met the youngest participants in the form of a theatre performance. The children also took part in a reading and discussion with Emilia Vacheva and Yana Kazakova based on the book In the Footsteps of Vitаn the Frog and His Friends, as well as in the creative activity Drawing and Discovering.
The afternoon was dedicated to adventure and exploring the natural world. Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation and BSPB organised educational and adventure games through which children and their parents learned more about wild animals, nature, and the ways each of us can contribute to biodiversity conservation.
Throughout the day, visitors had the opportunity to view the exhibition The Return of Vultures to the Rhodopes, discover products from local producers at the “Madzharovo Shop”, and visit the Open Day at the Eastern Rhodopes Conservation Centre. Documentary film Wings Over the Mountains and other films dedicated to vultures and their conservation were screened at the Centre.
The festive day concluded with a concert at the N. Y. Vaptsarov Community Centre, featuring Borislav-based bard Bai Arsen, Kristina Topalova – KEYA, and the band Kartal.
International Vulture Awareness Day is celebrated every year on the first Saturday of September with initiatives aimed at raising public awareness of the importance of vultures to nature and the need for their conservation. As natural “sanitarians”, they play a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems.
We would like to thank all the participants, volunteers, partners and friends who made the celebration in Madzharovo so special!
The festival is part of the project “Restoration of the Cinereous vulture population and trophic chain in the Bulgarian-Greek cross-border region,” (Project No. 101148254 — LIFE23-NAT-BG-LIFE Rhodope Vulture), co-financed by the LIFE program of the European Union and Rewilding Europe, and implemented by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) in partnership with the Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation. The celebration is also supported by the project “From Iron Curtain to Green Belt: Restoring Ecological Networks in Southeast Bulgaria”, financed under the Endangered Landscapes Programme (ELSP).
