Student Competition "The Wisdom of Wetlands" from BFB for the Burgas Lakes

On the occasion of World Wetlands Day - February 2nd, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation organizes a student competition “The Wisdom of Wetlands”, dedicated to the cultural and natural value of the Burgas lakes. The theme, which is celebrated worldwide, is Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage.

The competition aims to encourage students to get to know and preserve the living heritage associated with wetlands, through personal stories, traditional knowledge, and meetings between generations, and is aimed at students aged 10 to 18 years from schools in the Burgas region.

Participation can be individual or in a team (up to 3 students), with the support of a teacher or parent. Students are invited to explore and present stories related to life around the Burgas lakes, through:

• interviews with elderly relatives, salt workers, fishermen, ornithologists or other people associated with the lakes;
• stories about traditional activities such as salt extraction, sustainable fishing, crafts from reeds;
• folk beliefs, customs and recipes related to water and the lakes;
• personal impressions and family stories related to the Vaya, Mandra, and Atanasovsko lakes.

The forms of participation in the competition are: interview (up to 2 pages) + photo of the interviewee and interviewer; essay or short story (up to 2 pages); drawing or illustration; photography or short video (up to 2 minutes).

Students should send their competition materials to [email protected] – photographed or scanned (drawings, art projects) and keep the originals for the exhibition of the awarded works, in word or pdf (interview, essay, story), photos (in jpg), video (in MP4, MOV).

Deadline for submission: February 2, 2026. The BBF will organize a special jury to evaluate the received works and will announce the results on February 16, 2026.

The most inspiring works will be awarded and included in a joint exhibition, which will be organized on February 26, 2026 (Thursday) on the Avocet Path (South Atanasovsko Lake), with the participation of students, teachers, institutions and the media.