Basic Organisation No. 01/68 of the Czech Union for Nature Conservation originally focused on the conservation of amphibians and reptiles, but its activities have gradually expanded into other fields.
In 1984, our members proposed a programme for bioindicator-based monitoring of Prague’s environment. We have conducted this monitoring for the City of Prague ever since.
We established the video studio Get to Know and Protect, which produces educational programmes about nature and its conservation.
We continuously monitor the critically endangered Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus) at its only isolated locality in Bohemia. We also manage the area that protects its gene pool; thanks to our initiative, it has been designated as a nature reserve.
In Prague, we help manage Divoká Šárka, one of the city’s most valuable nature reserves.
We support endangered species both in the Czech Republic and abroad, particularly in Slovakia and Croatia. Our work has received several awards from Croatian nature conservation organisations and from the Young Nature Guards (Mladi čuvari prirode).
Our programme to protect the Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata), Croatia’s rarest and critically endangered reptile, is being carried out in cooperation with the Croatian Natural History Museum.
We also cooperate with Croatian partners on educational videos and public events, including the Cantata Ecologica festival, exhibitions and the ceremonial release of Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni) illegally brought from Croatia by tourists (the Testudo Action).
Members of our organisation work as instructors, tutors and advisers in the activities of our Ecocentre, which was established to provide environmental education for children and young people.
We also organise exhibitions, publish educational materials and give lectures in the Czech Republic and abroad.