As part of the project Upgrade of the weather-related emergency warning, awareness and adaptation system in a changed climate – SOVIR, Slovenian Environment Agency today inaugurated a phenological park.
At the opening ceremony, Director-General of Slovenian Environment Agency – ARSO, mag. Jože Knez highlighted the importance of the phenological park saying it would become an open public space, a place of scientific research and an outdoor class. “By monitoring budding, flowering, fruiting, leaf yellowing, and leaf fall, we can track natural processes and seasonal change, gaining valuable insight into how weather and climate impact plant life. Phenology helps us understand how ecosystems respond to environmental change over time. For this reason, sites like these hold significant scientific and research value. It is important that we protect, appreciate, and continue to develop them,” he said, underlining that the phenological park would also serve as a place of exploration, learning, and collaboration with kindergartens, schools, faculties, and everyone else interested in nature and environment. “If we observe plants closely enough, they can tell us how the world around is changing. This is the message we want to bring to younger generations.”
Representative of the Ministry of local Self-Government, Cohesion and Regional Development, Ms Irena Brcko Kogoj also attended the opening of the park, highlighting that over 166 million euros had been earmarked for similar projects under Slovenia’s EU Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027. “These funds support preventive measures as well as structural and non-structural measures to build resilience to climate-related emergencies. We support measures to improve flood protection, civil protection measures, such as purchase of water bombers, and better emergency warning and awareness.”
Nataša Šip from the European Commission representation in Slovenia highlighted that “we can see the EU funding provided under this project being transformed into something very tangible: greater knowledge, increased awareness, and a deeper understanding of the environment around us. And this is exactly what cohesion policy is about – improving the quality of life for EU citizens and building stronger communities.”
The total project value stands at nearly 29 million euros, of which 21 million euros comes from the EU. In addition to the development of the phenological park, the SOVIR project also includes the redesign of the ARSO website, the upgrade of the part of the ARSO monitoring network, the renovation of the high-altitude climate observatory on Kredarica, the purchase of a precipitation radar and the renovation of the radar centre on Lisca, and the purchase of a new supercomputer and other IT infrastructure.
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