"Our induction into tree-planting comes from Pietro, an Italian hydromorphologist charged with overseeing our group of 20 or so volunteers for the week. We're standing in a makeshift nursery full of spindly willow and poplar saplings just above the Vjosa River, a graceful, meandering waterway that cuts east to west across southern Albania from its source 169 miles away upstream in Greece."
"The volunteering week is the brainchild of EcoAlbania and the Austria-based Riverwatch. Back in 2023, these two conservation charities succeeded in persuading the Albanian government to designate the River Vjosa as Europe's first wild river national park. It was a timely intervention. According to new research co-funded by Riverwatch, Albania has lost 711 miles (1,144km) of nearly natural river stretches since 2018 more, proportionally, than any country in the Balkans. Now, the question facing both organisations is: what next?"
Pietro, an Italian hydromorphologist, instructed volunteers on careful planting techniques for willow and poplar saplings in a makeshift nursery above the Vjosa River. Volunteers worked in pairs, extracting and transplanting saplings while avoiding stem and root damage. EcoAlbania and Austria-based Riverwatch organized the volunteering week after securing 2023 designation of the Vjosa as Europe's first wild river national park. Research co-funded by Riverwatch reports Albania lost 711 miles (1,144km) of nearly natural river stretches since 2018, a proportional loss greater than any Balkan country. Volunteers were based in Tepelene at the Lord Byron guesthouse.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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