Balaton Geopark – 3nd Intermediate meeting

In the period from October 23. to 29. 2022, the mobility of members of the VR@Geoparks project was held in Balaton.

It is an Intermediate Project Meeting mobility, to which one to two employees of the partner institution travel, and it lasts shorter than the LTTA project mobility. Representatives of the Geopark Madonie (Sicily), the school from Manisa (Turkey), the school from Valpovo (Croatia), the Geopark “Holly Cross Mountains” from Poland and the Interactideas institution from Portugal stayed at Balaton. The household was run by the employees of the Ištvan Baptist High School from Tapolca, who put together an intensive and educational program.

That’s how the partners learned details about the Bakony-Balaton Geopark itself, within which the school is located, and about Lake Balaton itself. They visited important geolocalities where they learned about the geological origin of this part of Europe, and the volcanic rocks in the form of basalt vertical and horizontal columns were of special interest. The partners got to know local customs and culture, as well as the life of the local population. In addition to the botanical garden, they also visited a local tea producer who has his own garden with over 500 different plants. Below Tapolca there is a cave with clear spring water, and the partners had the opportunity to take a boat ride through the said cave.

In addition, the partners had the opportunity to talk with the mayors of individual cities within the Balaton region, as well as with the director of the Geopark himself, who showed great hospitality and interest in this project. In addition, a large part of the work done by the partners during the first year of the project was presented. The hosts offered guests local gastronomic products every day and promoted the local culture of the Balaton region. In the host school, the partners had the opportunity to participate in the production of sweets and cakes with the help of students and, of course, in tasting them.

The basic task of this project is to make a virtual walk with a lot of information on the geoparks of Europe that are included in this project. The partners worked intensively on perfecting the VR application, and we tested the finished parts that already showed how the application would work. The Croatian school participates due to the proximity of the Papuk Geopark, and the virtual walk around Papuk is completely completed. At the end of the project, which is scheduled for the spring of 2023, the virtual 3D application will be available to everyone, especially students and teachers, as well as all current and potential nature lovers. As part of the project, our partners have mobility to Portugal in February 2023, when up to 5 employees of all partners will participate in LTTA mobility.