More than 40 young people from Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey met on Saturday 24th September 2022 in Edirne, Turkey, as part of the "EUROPEAN GREEN BELT DAYS 2022", which is an initiative to protect nature in cross-border regions of Europe.

The SPBT participated, along with four young women from Dadia and Kornofolia, representing the Greek side of Thrace, while Green Balkans and Back to Nature participated from Bulgaria and Plastiğe Hayir from Turkey.

The day started with a tour of the natural history museum and then with a symbolic cleaning of garbage from a riverside forest. The young people had the opportunity to take a guided tour on the banks of the river Evros, to observe dozens of species of birds, but also to exchange personal experiences, and to ultimately find many similarities in the culture, environment, views and also the challenges faced by the three countries.

This was followed by guided tours in Edirne, to places of environmental and cultural interest, with a stop at a peri-urban grove where the environmental organisations presented the activities that each implements in their country. Emphasising the importance of cross-border cooperation and the active participation of young people, they explored the opportunities that they could exploit and the joint actions that could be implemented in the future.

Pictures ©Mahmut Koyaş