Free Eco-Educational Trips with Mr. Slug for Children — 2026 Season
Real outdoor environmental education is no longer a luxury but a genuine opportunity for children in the Carpathian region. In 2025, 1,282 children took part in 77 free eco-educational activities beyond the classroom. During these trips, pupils explored insects, searched for animal tracks, studied freshwater habitats, and learned more about the protected areas located near their communities. They were able to reach these outdoor lessons aboard two off-road buses with experienced drivers provided by the Frankfurt Zoological Society.
In 2026, the journeys across the Carpathians continue, and we would like to share more details about who can book the buses, how the process works, and where to apply in order to organize an eco-educational trip with Mr. Slug for children without unnecessary hassle. We will also take a closer look at the purpose of this project together with Hanna Kuzo, Coordinator for Environmental Education of Protected Areas at FZS Ukraine.
“Know. Love. Protect.” is the motto of our environmental education project,” Hanna emphasizes.
“We want both adults and children to protect the nature of their home region and everything that surrounds them. But people usually protect what they love, and to love something, they first need to get to know it well. That is why the words in our motto appear in this order: first know, then love, and finally protect.
We also tend not to appreciate what is close to us and instead admire places that are far away. That is why we want to introduce children to the nature that has surrounded them since birth—the nature that exists here and now, rather than somewhere far away in photographs on the internet. After all, what lies just five minutes or an hour’s walk from home can be truly fascinating and educational, and it deserves attention.
It is important for children to develop an emotional connection with their local nature.
In the past, this was difficult because someone had to gather the children, prepare a programme, arrange transportation to a national park, and so on. Once the project was launched, everything became much easier.
Protected areas and FZS specialists worked together to develop meaningful environmental education programmes. Children do not simply come to the forest—they receive high-quality knowledge explained in simple language. We tried to ensure that every programme offered by the parks not only shared facts but also created an emotional connection with the children. At the same time, we did not forget that even the simplest sandwich tastes better outdoors 😊.
Later, we purchased two off-road buses so that children could be transported even to the most remote parts of the mountains. Today, each trip can accommodate a group of up to 32 pupils.
I also cannot fail to mention Mr. Slug.
He is not a fictional character but a real blue slug that can be found in the Carpathians. He is often underestimated and overlooked by people, while in reality he is an ecosystem engineer and plays a very important role in breaking down complex organic compounds into simpler ones. We realized that he should become the ambassador of our environmental education programme, helping children understand that we should love not only the large and fluffy inhabitants of nature, but all living creatures.”
Schools, NGOs, and youth clubs located within or bordering national parks and nature reserves in the Carpathian region are eligible to book the buses.
- If you are a parent, tell your child’s teacher about this opportunity for an eco-educational trip. If you are a teacher or youth club leader, find the nearest national park or nature reserve on the map, look up its contact information online, and ask about its environmental educationprogrammes. National parks and protected areas have websites and social media pages, making it easy to get in touch. For example, if the school where you work or where your child studies is located near Skole Beskids National Nature Park, you can organize your trip there.
- Choose the date of your trip together with the park. You will receive information about the availableprogrammes and their duration. Each national park offers its own educational activities.
Here are a few examples:
- Carpathian National Nature Park: “Wetlands Worth Their Weight in Gold. An Educational Excursion to the Rudyak Oligotrophic Bog.”
- Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park: “What the Trees Keep Silent About. A Walk to Rosokhata Mountain Meadow.”
- Skolivski Beskydy National Nature Park: “Sopit Adventures. Exploring a Mountain Waterfall.”
- Prepare the necessary documents: an official order from the school or NGOcontaining the full list of participating children and the accompanying adults.
The national park will then prepare the remaining documentation and book the buses through us.
We carefully monitor the quality of our environmental education programmes.
We do not want children to remember only the size of a national park or the number of rare species, even though these facts are important. Instead, we want them to remember how wonderful it felt to be out in nature, what they discovered there, and that everything around them is valuable, alive, important, and close to home. We hope they will later share these experiences with their parents and grandparents.
We are proud that, for the first time, national parks and nature reserves in the Carpathians have the opportunity to regularly bring children to their protected areas. We encourage everyone in the Carpathian region to actively take advantage of this programme so that together we can raise environmentally conscious citizens—because “Know. Love. Protect.” begins with small steps.
