Source: European Union 2 Published on: 2026-05-21
Nature needs us. With increasing pressure on the natural world from pollution, exploitation and climate change, we can all help to restore damaged ecosystems so they once again become healthy, resilient and full of life.
As the Natura 2000 Day website says, ‘Wild landscapes, biodiverse farmland, hidden gems of nature just around the corner…Natura 2000 has it all. And there’s probably at least one site close to where you live!’ Natura 2000 Day on 21 May celebrates the world’s largest coordinated network of protected areas.
It also coincides with the 34th birthday of the LIFE Programme, set up in 1992 to support the aims of the ground-breaking Habitats Directive. Since 2021 alone, 540 Natura 2000 sites have benefited from projects funded by LIFE. To mark Natura 2000 Day, EU citizens are being invited to take small-scale local actions to help restore and protect nature — for example by taking part in a BioBlitz at a nearby Natura 2000 site.
Anyone from complete beginners to wildlife experts can record wild plants and animals using a smartphone using the ObsIdentify app. Results are then automatically added to the grand total across the EU. Events are taking place in every EU Member State.
As LIFE Belgium for Biodiversity, organiser of the National Biodiversity Challenge 2026, puts it, ‘We invite you to discover and appreciate everything that lives and grows around us.
Enjoy the beauty of nature and take a moment to notice what is crawling, growing, hanging, swinging and fluttering around you.’ In parallel, the EU’s #ForOurPlanet campaign is also encouraging citizens to take positive action for the environment through everyday activities and awareness-raising initiatives.
‘Everyone has a role to play in restoring nature,’ says Reinhardt Strubbe, project coordinator for the LIFE DUNIAS project, which conserves sand dunes along the Belgian coast. ‘You do not need a degree in biology or to be a land manager to make a difference.
Nature restoration is a shared responsibility, and it often comes down to small, daily choices.’ Miguel Vega, coordinator of the LIFE-myBUILDINGisGREEN project, loves getting up close and personal with nature. ‘I grew up in a small coastal town in Spain, nestled between pine forests and a striking mountain range.
This close contact with nature from an early age shaped my view of the importance of conserving our environment,’ he says.
Over the past 34 years, LIFE has invested nearly €12.5 billion in more than 6 500 projects across Europe and beyond, focusing on four key areas: protecting and restoring nature while halting and reversing biodiversity loss; moving towards a sustainable, circular, toxic-free, energy-efficient and climate-resilient economy while improving our environment; reducing greenhouse gas emissions while increasing resilience to climate change; and helping Europe transition to an energy-efficient and clean energy economy.
Whether we live in a bustling city centre or quiet rural community, Natura 2000 Day is a great opportunity to reconnect with nature and do our bit — however small — to protect our precious wild plants and animals.
To get involved visit the observation.org map of Bioblitzes across the EU, the #ForOurPlanet campaign website or the Natura 2000 Day information page. Sign up for our LIFE Programme newsletters