The organisers were dealt perfect sunny weather. Hundreds of people attended the rich programme.
On Saturday, 23 May, the third edition of the event A Year in Veľká Fatra took place in the Blatnica Valley. “We first organised this family event in 2024 as part of the celebrations of 50 years of nature protection in Veľká Fatra, and since it received a great response, we decided to hold it every year,” said Katarína Belešová, Acting Director of the Veľká Fatra National Park Administration.
The program was hosted by Slovakia’s first female botanist, Izabela Textorisová. “On March 16, we commemorated the 160th anniversary of the birth of Izabela Textorisová, who lived right here in Blatnica. She devoted herself to self-study of botany, collecting and pressing plants. Her herbarium, housed at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University in Bratislava, contains 4,878 items,” explained Veronika Šimková, PR manager of the national park.
At each station, children received one leaf for their herbarium. “Each of the six stations presented a different habitat with environmental activities for children and adults. In the main tent – the symbolic House of Izabela Textorisová – participants put together all the collected items and created their own herbarium,” she added.
The main tent also hosted discussions with experts about invasive plants and about the life and work of Izabela Textorisová. Visitors could also view models and visualisations of upcoming projects in the national park area. A lovely highlight of the event was a performance by the children’s folklore group from Blatnica.
Trail markers from the Slovak Tourist Club and members of the Mountain Rescue Service also took part, with demonstrations of interventions and dog training. The Turiec Regional Tourism Organisation, the Brown Bear Response Team, and the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic also had their presentation stands.
The company Brantner Fatra provided the event’s environmental facilities, and thanks for the drinking-water tanker – where visitors could refill their own bottles for free – goes to the Turčianska Water Company.
The event was organised thanks to the implementation of a project under the support measure “Support for sustainable tourism and strengthening biodiversity in protected areas”, co-financed by the second Swiss–Slovak Cooperation Programme. Project code: 0410-2SC-BIO-PC1-001.
