Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve (RLBR) hosted a delegation from its partner biosphere reserve in Germany at a presentation celebrating the joint brochure entitled Partners in the World Network, Sept. 25.
Dignitaries in attendance included Karl-Friedrich Abe, head of administration from the German Rhoen Biosphere Reserve; Reinhard Braun, responsible for geographic information system (GIS) from the German Rhoen Biosphere Reserve; Barbara Hoggard-Lulay, Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Saskatchewan; Sabine Doebel-Atchison, executive director of the Saskatchewan German Council; and Alex Cunningham, online marketing specialist for Tourism Saskatchewan.
After a brief introduction by Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve chairperson Andrew Hawrysh, Karl-Friedrich Abe expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to visit RLBR and for also the friendships that have developed over the years and resulted in the 2007 partnership with the trilingual brochure. This was the first joint project of the four partnering biosphere reserves Rhoen, Germany; Redberry Lake; Georgian Bay, Ont.; and Charlevoix, Que.
"The goal of this partnership agreement is to build capacity and exchange best practices amongst the four BRs that enhance the sustainable development of each region," explained Karl-Friedrich who proceeded with a slide show presentation introducing the Thuringia region of the BR.
Reinhard Braun gave a brief presentation on the various hiking trails established throughout the Thuringia region. He described the vast amount of signage that assists hikers in their adventure. It was also mentioned that each town within the BR has a sign associating it with the BR region.
Karl-Friedrich Abe added restaurants are partners by marketing local products. "It (the signage) shows our guests specific restaurants that have local products on the menu and it is also good for farmers to market their products."
In conclusion, Karl-Friedrich Abe commented the agreement between the four partners constitutes a long-term partnership to exchange best practices and ideas, and provide educational opportunities for sustainable development.
Rebecca Pollock representing Georgian Bay BR and Claude Letarte representing Charlevoix BR joined the discussion at RLBR via Skype. Pollock explained that Georgian Bay BR has been inspired by its partnership. They have been able to share ideas and attempt projects just by having the strategic alliances that they have.
"We as partners want to work close with our local partners to offer an experience," commented Pollock, "to have the BR work with the markets to offer a larger package."
"People want to have a human experience," commented Letarte.
A potential project would be to develop a youth exchange program between schools within the BRs. Communication can be in the form of emails or Skype but would encourage a developing partnership with connections across the continent.
The question of how to educate the community on the BR efforts was addressed and discussed.
RLBR communications co-ordinator, Susanne Abe, provided a brief presentation outlining the projects that have occurred at RLBR over the past year. These projects included the ongoing Agri-Environmental Group plan (AEGP) which encourages farmers to implement best management practices (BMP). Another major project is having Redberry Lake implemented as part of the land and infrastructure resiliency assessment (LIRA) pilot project.
A farmers' market was introduced with one per month. There were a number of vendors that participated in the event monthly from June through to October. There was a summer student hired to initiate a kids' club which introduced children and youth to the area through exploring, tasks and learning sessions. There were also class visits. The RLBR also formed a partnership with the school of environment and sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan whereby staff and students work collaboratively to do research projects.
"It is an opportunity for the professors to take the students out from a city setting and impress upon them a certain way of thinking," commented Hawrysh, explaining there is so much to explore and learn about at RLBR.
"The partnership is an example of the value of the Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme co-ordinating regional networking and knowledge exchange, particularly as individual biosphere reserves receive different levels of support nationally and locally," commented Hawrysh in his closing remarks. "Biosphere reserves have a facilitation role in their regions to involve diverse stakeholders and create social networks that support biodiversity conservation, local livelihoods and regional economies. They accomplish this through education, leadership and innovation, striving to become UNESCOs ideal of 'learning platforms for sustainable development.'"
