TRAIN#ER – Ecological renaturation in professional practice
The TRAIN#ER project aims to identify the knowledge requirements in the field of ecological restoration for relevant professional groups and, together with the project partners, to derive recommendations for more effective knowledge transfer into professional practice. To this end, knowledge producers and users as well as their interactions are identified, and the type of knowledge available and in demand and the information channels used to date are determined. Our analyses are intended to reveal gaps in knowledge production and transfer, thereby laying the foundations for future improvements in vocational training programs.
Project priorities
Specific project goals:
- Creation of an up-to-date requirements profile for training and further education in the field of ecological renaturation in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
- Identification and characterization of demonstration areas that can be used for knowledge transfer in the field of ecological renaturation.
- Review of the profile of existing training and continuing education programs in the field of ecological restoration.
- Highlighting opportunities for improved career prospects through the integration of ecological restoration into education and training programs.
- Cross-country analyses and recommendations by the project consortium.
- Communication of project results at national and European level
Project region
Norway, Czechia, Spain, Germany
Further project details
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The TRAIN#ER project will conclude on February 28, 2023. During the 12-month project period, online surveys and focus group interviews were conducted in the four project countries and at the European level. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all participants for their valuable contribution to the project.
The evaluations of the surveys and focus group interviews provided us with interesting insights into the topics of knowledge production, knowledge transfer, and the need for teaching content and forms in the field of ecological restoration. During a workshop at the University of South Bohemia in Budweis, we had the opportunity to discuss the national results with our project partners from Spain, Norway, and Czechia. As part of the workshop, a Community of Practice (CoP) was initiated to support the synthesis, analysis, and recommendations from the TRAIN#ER project. The results of the TRAIN#ER project should contribute to promoting knowledge transfer between science and practice by identifying key issues in the field of ecological restoration (ER).
The following key statements were derived from the project results:
1. Improved cooperation within European and national networks is very important in order to expand and strengthen the opportunities and outcomes of ER training.
2. Tailored learning materials on ER topics are necessary to improve ER education in the education system.
3. Internet platforms are useful for facilitating access to relevant ER materials as open educational resources, which should be easily accessible and easy to understand.
4. Demonstration areas and examples of good and bad practices are extremely useful for knowledge transfer in vocational education and training.
5. There is a need to improve existing curricula for vocational education and training and to qualify teachers in ER-related topics.
6. New educational programs focusing on ER are in high demand.
The detailed findings of the project are summarized in the following documents:
Examples of demonstration areas in Germany, Norway, Spain, and Czechia
Study programs and modules related to renaturation in the project countries
Further information is available on the official TRAIN#ER website.
