From the 10th to the 14th of July 2011 a group of students led by associates from the International Elias Canetti Society and Caritas – Ruse were on a working eco camp in mountain hostel Echo in the Central Balkan Mountains. The students were from different schools in Ruse but all of them were united by the idea for responsible attitude towards nature, care for the climatic changes and the consequences of human activity on the environment. The eco camp is part of the project “Man, Technology, Environment. Through education for sustainable ecological development in Ruse and the region”, which is realized through the partnership between the International Elias Canetti Society and Caritas – Ruse.

The program was balanced between volunteer work and educational lectures under the open sky. And so, comfortably comfortably housed in the classroom “nature” and inspired by the environment the discussions and the lectures turned to learning through experience.

The choice of mountain hostel Echo was not mere chance. It served as an example of study and practical implementation of different models for ecological responsibility and sustainable development with the help of its solar photovoltaic power system, energy efficient diode lighting and compost toilet.

In the last day of the camp during their way down to the village of Ribaritsa the mountain offered the participants hot sun rays and a feast with wild strawberries, and in the village Chiflik the whole group immersed in the waters of the hot mineral pool.

The young ecologists said, that they feel satisfied with the voluntary work for the benefit of all tourists who will pass on the renewed mountain route and that these five days in the mountains have motivated them for further work for the preservation of the natural wealth of Bulgaria.