Event organizers can find advice how to make their events more environmentally friendly from a new handbook.
Under Tartu Nature House’s leadership supported by a Estonian-Russian cooperation project “GreenMind” a “Practical guide for organizing environmentally friendly events” was composed that is available for everyone on the Internet. The guide helps to bring out the possibilities reducing the environmental impact and offers great examples of different festivals where it has already been successful. In order to facilitate the organizers work eco friendly services’ and products’ examples with tenderers contacts have been collected.
Irrespective of the size and nature of an event every organizer should think, how the gathering could be more environmentally friendly. Cooperating with Estonian big events organizers Tartu Nature House has put together a handbook consisting practical tips.
Due to COVID-19 the society has become very cautious and considering the protection of environment we have stepped back. For one example, the shops refused to sell food in customers’ own reusable containers and the use of single-use dishes, plastic bags etc. multiplied in emergency situation. It is necessary and possible to return to sustainable and eco friendly consumption after the pandemic and the end of crisis measures.
There are many festivals in Estonia where the reduction of environmental impact has been in focus for years. Plenty of tips and encouraging inspiration can be found for other organizers in the new guide, which can be downloaded from Tartu Nature House’s website. In addition, examples and references to environmentally friendly products and service providers have been assembled.
Download the guidebook:
In Estonian: Keskkonnasõbralike_sündmuste_juhend (uuendatud versioon juuli 2020)
In English: Practical guide for organising environmentally friendly events (1st version)
More information:
Eeva Kirsipuu-Vadi
projecti coordinator
E-mail: eeva.vadi@gmail.com
Green Flag recogniton
On June 5, a recognition event of the Eco-Scools program took place. The educational institutions that successfully participated in the program were recognized with the Green Flag eco-label.
The event took place in Tartu Lotte Kindergarten. This kindergarten was one of the Estonian educational institutions that received the Green Flag recognition this year. In total, green flags were distributed to 33 kindergartens and schools. Twelve educational institutions received this recognition for the second time. In addition, there are 43 educational institutions that received the Green Flag last year. The educational institution has the right to use the Green Flag eco-label for two years.
For the first time, the President of the of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, who has been the patron of the Green School since the beginning of June, participated in the distribution of green flags. Before the official start of the event, President visited the Lotte Kindergarten. The kindergarten introduced its activities in the Green School program. The children greeted the President with songs, gave her as a gift a jar of their good wishes and ideas, and planted an apple tree in the garden together.
The President then gave an opening speech and recognized the educational institutions that successfully participated in the program with the Green Flag eco-label.
Introduction to the Green School
The Eco-Schools program is the best-known global environmental education program. The aim of the program is to integrate environmentally friendly thinking and behavior into the activities of kindergartens and schools.
The network includes 64 countries and more than 59 000 educational institutions around the world. Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in Denmark runs the program. The Eco-Schools program is led in Estonia by the Estonian Society for Nature Conservation, and starting from this year the activities are implemented by Tartu Nature House.
Related article: The Baltic Times
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More information:
Eeva-Kirsipuu Vadi
Coordinator of Estonian Eco-Schools programme
eeva.vadi@gmail.com
Tartu Nature House will switch to a summer schedule starting from June 1st. With that our opening hours will also change – we will be open to visitors from Tuesday to Friday at 10-18 and on Saturday at 11-16. We are closed on Sunday and Monday. Please follow the rules of social distancing and hygene. You can always ask additional information from our administrator.
In the summer period we have a lot of fun things waiting for visitors:
- We will open two new exhibitions: From 02.06 an exhibition on biodiversity loss and species extinction “Sixth Wave” and from 15.06 a exhibition called “Life in a Handful of Seawater” by the zoologist Lennart Lennuk.
- There will be fun and educational theme days for children, where children aged 7-12 are welcome to experiment, craft, build and play. Our first theme day takes place on July 3rd.
- We will rent out fun puzzles and outdoor games to play with family or friends in our park.
More information coming soon – we look forward to seeing you in the summer!
Tartu Nature House is not just an educational centre and a hobby school – nature friendly lifestyle and values are deeply integrated into the house itself. Our new house, built in 2013 is inspired by the pattern of the cracks that form on a log upon drying, which coupled with the park, forms an invisible united netting. In building The Nature House we have used durable, eco friendly and healthy materials and technologies as well as solutions used in passive houses. In one wing of the building are a rich in species conservatory and a room of animals, whose residents’ peculiarity, colourful life stories and relaxing antmosphere is best understood with the help of a guide.
Tours can be adjusted according to the group’s interests and an option to focus on a specific part or activity of the house is available. In warm weather an introduction on the landcaping of the park can be added to the tour. The tour is a perfect introduction or an interlude to courses, conferences, seminars or birthdays! It gives an opportunity for locals to discover new hidden oases in Tartu city.
Ask about custom tours for you: info@tartuloodusmaja.ee
Dear parents, event organizers and visitors, lets keep each other safe and healthy!
As a precautionary measure Tartu Nature House will as of 14.03 be closed. We will cancel all events, children’s birthday parties and study programmes. Hobby classes will be organised from distance.
However, you can still contact us on the phone 736 6120 or 50 555 27 by e-mail info@tartuloodusmaja.ee. We will keep you informed about any changes via our homepage and social media channels.
Maintain calm and stay healthy and see you soon!
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Additional information from the Estonian Health Board >>
Japanese Cultural Evening is cancelled!
Tartu Nature House is cancelling the Japanese Cultural Evening on 13th on March as a precaution recommended by the City of Tartu and Estonian Health Board. We apologise for the inconvenience and hope to see you on our next cultural evenings in the future!
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If you are interested in Japanese culture and you would like to try some origami, calligraphy, japanese games, traditional snacks and learn useful phrases in japanese then you are welcome at the Japanense cultural evening in Tartu Nature House!
The evening takes place on the 13th of March at 19:00 in Tartu Nature House, Lille 10.
The Japanese evening is hosted by students and their sensei from Sophia University, Tokyo. The event is in english.
Participation fee 2€.
Tartu Nature House brings you the best films from the Matsalu Nature Film Festival.
Movie nights will take place from November to April, on specific dates, at 18:00h.
Read more about the festival >>
MAFF in Tartu
12.11., 18:00h /Facebook event/
26.11., 18:00h /Facebook event/
Following movie nights:
10.12. / 14.01. / 28.01. / 11.02. / 25.02. / 10.03. / 24.03. / 14.04. / 28.04.
Tartu Nature House (Lille 10, Tartu)
Ticket price: 4 eur/adult; 2 eur/students
⛄🎁🎅🐢
This year the Tartu Nature House Christmas Fair will take place on the 7th December (11 am – 15 pm) 2019. The house will be open for all visitors – families, children, grandparents, everyone is welcome.
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👉Christmas fair
👉Christmas performance for children (in estonian)
👉Workshops
👉Cafe
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Our slogan for this year is 💝”A gift from the heart, no plastic wrapping needed!”💝”. We believe that there should be less things, but more gifts from the heart. And one thoughtful gift is more than enough. We will also have different workshops where you can make your own gift wrapping box or bag from recycled materials.
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📣 Stay tuned for updates! We would be happy to see You! 🙂
Follow the newest updates by joining the Facebook event!
We offer companies, institutions and groups of friends an opportunity to have a family friendly Christmas party with games and a Santa in Tartu Nature House!
Christmas programme starts with educational and heartwarming family performance “List”.
This story binds joy, sorrow and patience with curiosity, diligent fatigue and shyness. A little girl finds herself in Elf land where she meets elves making preparations for Christmas. They are overwhelmed with requests, because children’s letters have become longer with each year. If and how the problem can be solved remains to be seen…
More information >>
Through 14 artworks made by artists from 9 countries, the WasteArt project and travelling exhibition “NOT out of sight, NOT out of mind” invite you to look at the waste differently – as a material, resource and opportunities for the future! Tartu Nature House is hosting the exhibition 16.08-25.10.2019 and is open for all visitors during the opening hours. Entrance is with the house ticket.
The co-curator of the project Indrek Grigor describes the garbage catastrophe that the human kind is facing as a result of waste being something that is not talked about in polite companies. It is part of our daily lives, but yet we try to pretend as if it’s not there. “The majority of us perceive our garbage bin as a black hole, whatever is thrown into it has not only vanished from our households, it is believed to have left the realm of human liability”. There are no easy solutions for complex problems. As an individual facing corporate economy driven consumer culture and industrial waste production, one can feel lost and the situation may seem hopeless. One of the solutions the exhibition in this situation suggests, according to Grigor, is to be selfish about waste. You should consume less and reuse more, “But do it to save money, not the planet. It’s like quitting smoking. You save yourself and everything else is collateral “damage””, summarizes Grigor.
Participating artists:
Varvara & Mar Canet (EE)
Jacob Kirkegaard (DK)
Marta Moorats (EE)
Kiwa (EE)
Ansis Starks (LV)
André Avelãs (NL/PT)
“The Laboratory of Microclimates”
Annechien Meier & Gert-Jan Gerlach (NL)
Johanna Lohrengel (DE) & Gatis Kreicbergs (LV)
Ieva Krūmiņa (LV)
Geraldine Juárez (SE/MX)
Justin Tyler Tate (CA)
Willem Boel (BE)
Timo Toots (EE)
Elena Redaelli (NO)
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The exhibition is a part of the project WasteArt No. Est-Lat 65, which is funded by ERDF Interreg V-A Estonia-Latvia Cross-Border Programme, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of Latvia and project partners. Materials for the exhibition were provided by the Landfill “Daibe”, Swedbank Estonia and local communities in Latvia and Estonia.