The ICTA-UAB encourages teens to go "Mad about Nature"
The enrollment period for the programme ends on October 23th.
This year's edition of the programme Mad about Science, of the Catalonia-La Pedrera Foundation, which targets upper secondary pupils, can count on the involvement of ICTA-UAB.
For the second year running, the UAB's Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) will be organising the course Mad about Nature, part of the programme Mad about Science of the Catalonia-La Pedrera Foundation, with the aim of enriching young people's knowledge of the natural environment and the latest study methods, and of putting them in touch with top researchers in this field. The ICTA will have the support of several scientific institutions from all over Catalonia, and also of MónNatura Delta de l´Ebre and the Espai Natura Muntanya d´Alinyà.
The course studies the physical environment (climatology, geology and hydrology) and the different types of organisms (flora and fauna) and systems (continental, terrestrial and aquatic, and marine), and also focuses on the main tools used in nature management and conservation and on the use of communication and participation techniques to pass all this knowledge on to society as a whole.
From February to November 2016 the pupils will be offered morning lessons and visits to laboratories and research centres all over Catalonia, plus day-long field trips to observe the natural environment and get first-hand knowledge of the main research projects under way. Pupils wishing to base their final school projects on a topic dealt with on the Mad about Nature programme will be assigned a tutor for their projects from among the teachers on the course or ICTA researchers.
The 2015 edition of Mad about Nature is under way and will end in December. The next three sessions will consist of a trip to the Muntanya d´Alinyà to see how the black vulture is being reintroduced there, another trip to the Serra de Collserola Natural Park to learn more about the protection of species and natural areas, and a lesson on participation and communication in science projects.