Like we do every fall - except in 2020/21 -, we have welcomed our new students in September by hosting the annual retreat of the CEU department of Environmental Sciences and Policy!
This year we went again to the village Raab an der Thaya and the National Park Thayatal.
The Thayatal National Park - marketed as Austria’s ‘Garden of Eden’ - is located on 13,3 km2 in the north of the Waldviertel region of Lower Austria and protects an area of woods, meadows and rocky outcrops along the Thaya river on the border with the Czech Republic. Although the national park on the Austrian side is small, it is connected to the slightly larger Podyjí National Park across in the Czech Republic with hiking trails to viewpoints and ruined forts linking the two protected areas. Created in 2000, the park is home to rare animals such as white-tailed eagles, cormorants, otters and beavers and the shy wild cats have also returned to the forests of the area.
As usual, the first day was dedicated to some activities to get to know each other, to do some team building work on environmental issues. The second day we had our guided tour to the National Park.
The retreat was attended by MESP, MESPOM, 1st year PhD students, faculty and staff.