Educational Trails and Environmental Protection

An educational trail is a trail that is specially designed for walks in nature and learning about specific values or rarities. They are designed in such a way so as not to disturb the natural terrain and usually there is infrastructure of natural materials, mostly wood and stone.

Educational trails get their educational component with the information billboards, signposts, models, photographs, maps and other educational props which inform the visitors about the local flora, fauna, geology, ecology, culture and history. Their length varies between hundreds of meters to several kilometers.

Photo: Evgenija Krstevska

Depending on the topic, educational trails can be general, which give the visitors general information about the nature of the area; specialized, about a physically limited part of the area, and thematic, about specific types of plants, animals, geological phenomena, etc.

The purpose of these trails is to teach the general public about the importance of the region, to encourage the development of local tourism, improve the conditions for recreation of the population and raise environmental awareness. Marking out at least one education trail has to be the priority for the development and management of a protected area or an area of great recreational importance. The trails have to be in line with the theme, the relief and the nature.

Educational trails are a direct way of conveying a message from institutions to visitors for nature conservation.

In the Bregalnica region you can enjoy yourselves and learn something new by visiting several trails that were marked out as part of the activities for the Nature Conservation Programme in North Macedonia, such as the trails of Petko and the forest inhabitants near the Education Centre for Nature Conservation in the village of Negrevo and mountain Golak, the woodpecker trail on Osogovo mountains, the biodiversity trail in Delchevo, the eco trail by Zrnovska River, etc.