European Nature Academy: YOU CAN APPLY NOW!

Are you ready to be enabled and become more effective, competent and confident Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers?

Apply now to join LIFE ENABLE and be part of the new European Nature Academy (ENA) courses!

The call for applications is now officially open! 

The ENA provides FREE tailor-made training and a series of practical capacity-building courses for nature’s managers! 

Applications are open until the 4th of November. Courses start in February 2023!

DON’T miss your chance to gain skills, apply your learning, broaden your network and build the competencies you need to be more effective Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers!

Who should apply?

At this stage, we are looking for 60 individuals working currently in Protected Areas across Europe. Once selected, you will form the European Nature Academy’s core participants.

The courses focus on management of forest and marine ecosystems in particular, so we are giving priority to managers of these habitat types, especially in Natura 2000 sites. However, even if these habitats form only part of your Natura 2000 site or Protected Area, the courses will still be relevant to you. When you apply, simply let us know which habitat type is of more interest to you – either forest or marine, but you can’t pick both!

How the European Nature Academy will work

The new European Nature Academy is a training hub and provides access to a series of practical capacity-building courses for nature managers. The courses are designed specifically to equip individuals and their organisations with the competencies they require to meet the challenges and opportunities of nature management in the coming decade. 

There is no fee for the training. Also, your travel & subsistence costs to participate in the face-to-face networking events will be reimbursed and covered by the project.

Delivered in a series of online modules and networking events, the emphasis is on applied learning to improve management practices. The competency-based courses cover the following subjects:

1. Ways of working for Natura 2000 & Protected Areas across Europe

This course focuses on the core skills, knowledge & attitudes you need in your daily work. It ‘kicks-off’ with a face-to-face Induction Seminar as a prelude to 10 online modules which cover:

• European policies & priorities for nature
• Tools for participative and inclusive governance
• Design of communication strategies, tools, techniques and approaches
• Management planning as a technical process for biodiversity conservation & a process for social engagement
• Strategies for engagement, collaborative working, conflict management, resolution & mediation

 Where & when?

Induction Seminar: A face-to-face networking event in Schneverdingen, Germany, from 13 to 17 February 2023

10 online modules starting 13 March to 16 June 2023!

2. Tools for Natura 2000 forest managers OR Tools for Natura 2000 marine managers

 These two courses run in parallel in September/ October 2023 – you must choose one! There will be 4 online modules in 4 weeks plus a 4 – 5 days practical workshop for each course. The precise dates for the forest and marine workshops and locations have yet to be confirmed, but they will be announced well in advance.

3. Training for Trainers Course

Being part of the core participant group, there is a further opportunity. In June/ July 2023, you can apply for an additional training course. We will recruit 20 people to ‘Train as Trainers’ of the courses you have followed and completed – you will find out more later!

All we ask for…

We estimate that on average you will commit to about 5 hours maximum per week to participate.

In addition, you will need to complete and submit a ‘final assignment’ in your own time over the Summer of 2023. The time you give to doing that, is up to you, but we would expect it to take about 20 to 25 hours maximum.

Selection process

As we want the training to benefit as many people and organisations as possible, in particular we will welcome applications from people in a position to ‘roll-out’ the training. This includes either with your own team or for colleagues working elsewhere in your organisation, but also for people in other organisations with whom you work in partnership, for example through collaboration projects.

This is an international project so we need people with good levels of English.

The application and selection timeline is as follows:

• Completed online applications must be submitted by 4 November 2022. 
• Possible follow-up to request additional information (where necessary) by mid-November – if you don’t hear from us, don’t worry, it’s all good! 
• Our final selection will be completed by early December.

You will know if you have been selected (or not) before the end of 2022!

Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers work in a wide variety of roles, in multidisciplinary settings. Where you work is likely to be dynamic, constantly evolving and complex. You routinely face challenges and opportunities in your daily work, which require you to apply a special mix of knowledge, skills and attitudes. In almost all cases, as well as technical conservation skills, you need to work inclusively, in cooperation with local communities and other organisations, and be able to communicate what you are doing and why. The management choices you make and the ways in which you work are critical to achieving progress towards your objectives for nature.

LIFE ENABLE is designed to meet Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers’ training needs. It is creating the new European Nature Academy to provide tailor-made training and support your professional development. 

The goal is to contribute to ensuring progress towards the realisation of the objectives and ambitions of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and underpinning policies. To achieve this, the European Nature Academy’s cost-free training courses focus on the competencies required to manage Natura 2000 and Protected Areas more effectively.

LIFE ENABLE is designed to meet Natura 2000 and Protected Area managers’ training needs. It is creating the new European Nature Academy to provide tailor-made training and support your professional development. 

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