We have already become used to the fact that all important e-mails from European Commission arrive on Friday afternoon and possibly find themselves in spam. Since we are not currently a part of any LIFE project, we did not expect any messages. But it happened. The three-year project AQUAVIVA, which we completed at the end of 2014, was selected among the top five information LIFE projects for 2015! Uuuaauuu!
What does that mean? First of all, it means that we have worked well, even better, excellent. It means that the results of the project exceeded expectations, which requires a lot of effort, often unsettled working hours, “night shifts” and – a lot of coordination. But we had in minds that approved LIFE project is a confirmation of the right track and that European Commission decides to support activities that are really indispensable for nature conservation. If we do more than this, it’s even better for nature. And we have always tried to do more than promised, for which we devoted many volunteer hours. No one asked how much was the time when something had to be done. The work on LIFE project has become a lifestyle in our organization over the past decade.
The selection of the best projects does not bring material benefits, but on the contrary, additional costs, since we had to pay for a trip to award ceremony. But it brings joy and satisfaction that can not be measured; it brings a huge amount of energy that will again push LIFE wheels towards fresh waters, for the third time. New success would consolidate the stability of the non-governmental organization, create new jobs for the ever-neglected nature protection profession and state would receive contributions and taxes from them. This is more than any material reward can provide.
A project would not be well carried out without selfless team of Institute LUTRA: Tatjana, Marjetka, Tomaž, Petra and Igor – thank you all for your indispensable contribution! Both partners, the Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia and the advertising company HOPA, have perfectly fulfilled their tasks. There was also a huge contribution from the 3ARH team, as support for electronic media is essential in disseminating information. Bad situations can only be solved by “good fairies” and good will, which was always in stock by our cameraman Samo Podobnik. Well-prepared publications of the project have undoubtedly contributed to good evaluation as well. We thanks both designer Zvone Kosovelj and graphic designer Dušan Antolin for professional unyielding and excellent cooperation. We hope, that the selection of European Commission is also pride of co-financiers, the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and HSE.
Thanks and sincere congratulations to many unnamed friends and colleagues. Their cooperation is no less valuable.
Marjana Hönigsfeld Adamič,
project coordinator