This Saturday with more than 200 visitors from all over Bulgaria our local team from Rewilding Rhodopes marked the International Vulture Awareness Day.
Throughout the day, thanks to guests and friends, we immersed ourselves in the beauty of the Eastern Rhodopes, with it’s wild nature reproduced and recreated in various creative forms. During the event, we introduced the guests of Madjarovo to the natural symbol of the city – the griffon vulture, the returning black vultures and the other wild actors that we are bringing back in this rewilding area.
Several workshops om different spots were held in Madzharovo’s town park allowing for visitors to choose from and participate in activity to their liking. Undoubtedly, the greatest interest among the younger visitors of the nature holiday was caused by the first Theatre for one spectator in Bulgaria because of the uniqueness of the experience and the fact that it happens only for the spectator of the performance. The participants in the special performance had the opportunity to completely immerse themselves in the wild nature scene and get to know its wild inhabitants. The children also took part in another workshop, again organized by Theatre Trio, and at the end of the day, the little nature lovers left the venue with their own “Mini-wild-theatre” to take and play at home.
The exhibition “Lords of the Rhodopean skies” was also available to guests and visitors all the time, which includes 16 photographs of bison, fallow deer, red deer, wolves, vultures and many more rare and endangered species that are making remarkable comeback in this landscape. Each panel is providing information and curious facts about the returning wildlife of Eastern Rhodopes both in Bulgarian and English.
Really well attended was the the concert of the Bulgarian bands Jambure and Ihu Ahu, who came especially for the occasion and entertained the visitors and residents of the town of Madjavorovo for nearly three hours.
The event was organized by the “Rewilding Rhodopes” Foundation in partnership with the Municipality of Madjarovo. International Vulture Day is marked every year on the first Saturday of September. The day draws attention to the rare birds, their role in the ecosystems and the threats that push them to the brink of survival. Raising the awareness and commitment of the general public is a key step towards their conservation.