The shared theme for this year’s European Heritage Days is Sustainable Heritage. This theme encompasses a wide understanding of sustainability and includes economic and social elements, while another key aspect is environmental sustainability. As part of this, many organisers will be looking at Europe’s unique natural heritage and how landscapes, wildlife and biodiversity can be supported and preserved.
The Sustainable Heritage Brochure for this year provides lots of helpful ideas and inspiration for event coordinators who want to include nature and wildlife events as part of their programmes. Learning from previous years can also be useful, such as from the shared theme from 2017 ‘Heritage and Nature: A Landscape of Possibilities’, or the ‘Hidden Nature’ theme which the Heritage Open Days festival in England used in 2020. From looking at how communities engage with nature and exploring historic relationships with the environment through traditional crafts or wilderness survival skills, to supporting and watching wildlife in spaces ranging from nature reserves to urban gardens and appreciating plants from ancient trees to tiny wildflowers, there are plenty of ways to incorporate natural topics in this year’s theme.