Today we witnessed efforts of one man, Jani Vidmar, who bought approximately 3 ha of arable land by himself along Laknica brook in Šmarjeta Municipality. He turned the area into a small nature reserve and is encouraging spread of biodiversity with beaver at its helm as the ecosystem engineer. He is encouraging the growth of vegetation along the waterside land boundary, which is in most other places completely cleared of all vegetation and the grass is mowed up to the water itself. He also put-up various bird boxes, as well as protected selected older trees and consequently channelled beaver activity where he wanted it. The area is known to the wider community and some like to take regular trips there, which had increased visitor activity especially during the Covid lock down. This is a proof how unspoiled nature is important to mankind and preservation of such small areas is paramount. The natural area of Zdravci is a beautiful spot for nature education activities, to gain insight into the ecosystem as a functioning whole, including humans in it. The area of Zdravci is an example of good practice management, and if one man was able to do it, so can more of us.
