Initial training course

Report on initial training course of Hydro workers

The 1st of August 2013, was the start of the training course of 58 workers from the Ondavka basin, who began working on measures for the recovery of the climate in their community. The learning program was also attended by water masters and mayors of municipalities in which the project hydro climate recovery is being implemented. Learning program consists of four separate parts and lasted from 1st to 9th of August, 2013.

The first part of education focused on lectures presenting the causes of local flooding, drought and climate change, and the degradation of ecosystems and sites in the outer and inner urban forest and agricultural country in general. The lectures are intended to provide the pupils with an understanding as to why it is necessary to revitalize the country, why is it necessary to retain water in the country in terms of environmental impacts (flooding, drought, climate change, biodiversity, preserving ecosystems), economic impacts (which means water in the country in terms of its production potential), cultural impacts (man's relationship to water and water effects on human behavior), social impacts (job creation), safety reasons (flood protection). The water teams consisted of selected loggers who have undergone training and obtained a additional logger licenses.

In the second part of the training course, concrete measures proposed in Ondavka basin were presented as well as the scope of work, schedule, management structure of the implementation process (on-site labour). Additionally, specific technical details such as safety precautions and procedures to be followed when working on site as well as guidelines for implementing the various elements based on agreed upon best practices which were also incorporated into the presentations. Included in this training course was a breakdown of technical, safety and security terminology and definitions as well as the locations being worked on in order to provide an in depth overview of the implementation process.

The third part of the training course was a practical hands on implementation session on site at a chosen location in Ohradzany during which 5 specific water retention measures were implemented, which were then evaluated, and their quality deficiencies observed and addressed. After completing these particular solutions, graduates were divided into 8 teams, which then began to implement the adaptation measures in selected areas of their communities. The final day of training water teams presented the implemented measures in a joint session, during which an assessment of the quality of work, performance and compliance with work safety took place.

From 15 August water teams work on implementing adaptation measures in their municipalities under the water masters and coordination team, which monitors the progress of the work. Work on the measures will be implemented gradually to 15 December, when there will be joint sessions with the presentation of the results obtained.

Participants expressed their opinion on the quality of training in a questionnaire handed out at the end of the presentation, whose results were processed are summarized in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 54 out of 58 hydro workers.