Montenegrin Ecologists Society (MES) has launched a project titled “From educating and connecting children with nature, through dendrochronological research, to raising awareness about climate change over the past few centuries in Montenegro!”, financially supported by the European Union.
Through this project, MES will focus on the study of Bosnian pine forests – an endemic, relict pine species that forms unique and highly significant habitats in the Montenegrin mountains. This tree species survived the last great Ice Age, and individual trees can live for over 1,000 years. Bosnian pine thrives in harsh, rocky environments with little fertile soil, where other trees struggle to survive.
For this reason, MES will begin studying the records that time has left within the oldest individual trees. Various changes in microclimatic and environmental conditions experienced by a tree during its life are recorded in its rings – known as tree rings. Through this project, MES will initiate the establishment of Montenegro’s first dendrochronological laboratory, which will work to reconstruct the conditions in which these trees grew throughout their lifetimes. This will provide data on how the climate has changed over past centuries, as well as insights into sudden disturbances, such as wildfires. These findings can later be used to forecast future changes and to design adaptive scenarios for forests and other natural systems exposed to these shifts. This type of research is especially important for Bosnian pine forests, as the trees are highly flammable and large portions of them are lost to fire each year.
A key focus of the project will be on re-establishing and strengthening the connection between children and the natural world, especially those growing up near Bosnian pine forests. By organising two wilderness camps and hosting nature-based workshops both outdoors and in schools, MES will help children gain knowledge about the value and importance of biodiversity – the most effective shield against climate and other environmental changes, and a source of countless services that nature has always offered to humans for free.
At the end of the project, an art exhibition dedicated to mountain pine forests and their biodiversity will be organised, conveying important messages to the wider public about the interdependence between nature and humans. By looking into the mountain pine, we can glimpse the past; by planting it, we create a safer future.
