On September 30th, BALKANI Wildlife Society and WWF Bulgaria took part in the NATURE FEST in Sofia presenting their work at the Dragoman Marsh. The event was organized for the first time ever by the Coalition of environmental organizations in Bulgaria “For the Nature”.
The unusual information stand about the Ramsar wetland site was designed together with the Bulgarian WaterLANDS artist resident – Maria Nalbantova. The goal was for the visitor to get a feel of the wetland atmosphere in the center of Sofia. Thus, a reed installation led people to a piece of the Marsh presented in an aquarium. Exerts from BALKANI Wildlife Society not only presented the wetland’s biodiversity, they also showed some typical species.
Next to the aquarium, Nalbantova welcomed visitors into her field laboratory presenting her artist research and activities. Since the beginning of her residency, she has participated in various field activities – bird monitoring and bird ringing, camera trap setting, reed cutting, clean-up actions, etc. At the moment, her focus is on DIY materials using reed as a main natural resource. In Maria’s lab children and their parents learnt about reed transformation into a new material. The artist is using it in the design of an exhibition in Kvadrat 500 – National Gallery with Martina Yordanova as a curator.
Photography by the BALKANI Wildlife Society
