{"id":4792,"date":"2026-07-23T08:29:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T08:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/?p=4792"},"modified":"2026-07-29T21:21:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:21:07","slug":"co-creative-river-stewardship-in-the-psata-river-basin-the-first-round-of-workshops-with-local-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/co-creative-river-stewardship-in-the-psata-river-basin-the-first-round-of-workshops-with-local-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"Co-Creative River Stewardship in the P\u0161ata River Basin: The First Round of Workshops with Local Residents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Between 31 March and 23 April 2026, we held the first round of co-creative workshops in the P\u0161ata River basin as part of the LIFE2RIVERS project. The workshops took place in the five municipalities through which the P\u0161ata River flows \u2013 Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Komenda, Menge\u0161, Trzin and Dom\u017eale\u2013Dragomelj. They brought together 40 participants, who shared their experiences, observations and knowledge of the P\u0161ata River and its surrounding area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshops were designed as an open space for dialogue between local residents, municipalities and experts. Their purpose was to collect local observations, better understand the experiences of people who live alongside the river and interact with it on a daily basis, and establish a shared foundation for the future management of the river basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The P\u0161ata as a Place of Nature, Community and Identity<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Across all municipalities, local residents perceive the P\u0161ata as an important natural and community space. During the workshops, participants highlighted its rich plant and animal life, wetlands, riparian vegetation and the natural processes that shape the river. For many, the P\u0161ata is a place for walking, recreation and relaxation. It also holds symbolic significance for local communities, reflected in the tradition of the Gregorjevo festival and in numerous personal memories of childhood spent by the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Challenges in the River Basin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The floods of August 2023 have had a profound impact on how the river is perceived throughout the basin. Many participants shared their personal experiences of the floods and described the sense of uncertainty that remains whenever heavy rainfall occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the main factors contributing to flood risk, participants identified regulated watercourses, constrictions of the river channel, the accumulation of sediment and debris, and inadequate maintenance of certain sections. Discussions also focused on spatial planning. Participants expressed concern about new construction in flood-prone areas and stressed that future spatial development should take greater account of natural processes and lessons learned from past flood events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spatial Observations as a Valuable Source of Local Knowledge<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The workshops also generated a wealth of specific spatial observations. On maps, participants identified areas affected by flooding, important wetlands, regulated sections of watercourses, problematic interventions and examples of good practice. These data represent a valuable collection of local knowledge that will be incorporated into the further planning of activities within the LIFE2RIVERS project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents can continue to contribute their observations through the interactive map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Shared Vision for the Future of the P\u0161ata<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite differences between the municipalities, a remarkably consistent vision emerged: the P\u0161ata should remain a natural and ecologically healthy river while also providing greater flood safety and a high quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants strongly support measures that give the river more space \u2013 including the preservation of wetlands, floodplains, meanders and riparian vegetation \u2013 as these features strengthen the resilience of the landscape and improve water retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They emphasised that rivers do not recognise municipal boundaries and that management must therefore be planned holistically, at the level of the entire river basin. Future measures should bring together nature conservation, spatial planning and flood protection objectives and should be grounded in natural processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Are the Workshops Important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The workshops demonstrated the value of local knowledge. The observations contributed by participants complement expert analyses and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the river’s current condition. This information will be crucial in developing future measures to improve flood safety and preserve natural processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For local communities, the P\u0161ata is much more than a watercourse. It is a place of nature, recreation, social interaction, identity and memories. Understanding local experiences is therefore essential for planning measures that will keep the river natural, healthy and safe for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Next Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The results of the first round of workshops provide an important foundation for the next stages of the LIFE2RIVERS project. The collected data represent an important complement to expert analyses and will be incorporated into the project’s further activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on this information, proposals will be developed to improve flood safety, preserve natural processes and establish guidelines for co-creative river stewardship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledgements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to participate and share their experiences, observations and suggestions with us. Your knowledge of the P\u0161ata River and the surrounding area is an invaluable source of information that significantly complements expert analyses and contributes to the development of better solutions for the future of the river basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe that only by working together and bringing different forms of knowledge together can we co-create a river that will remain natural, resilient and an important place for both people and nature for generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first round of workshops marked an important step in the process of co-creative river stewardship, but certainly not its conclusion. We will continue this collaboration throughout the next stages of the LIFE2RIVERS project, and we look forward to meeting again and continuing to co-create the future of the P\u0161ata River basin together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Between 31 March and 23 April 2026, we held the first round of co-creative workshops in the P\u0161ata River basin as part of the LIFE2RIVERS project. The workshops took place in the five municipalities through which the P\u0161ata River flows \u2013 Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Komenda, Menge\u0161, Trzin and Dom\u017eale\u2013Dragomelj. They brought together 40 participants, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[67,65,29],"class_list":["post-4792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-novice-en","tag-networking","tag-our-approach","tag-psata-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4792"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5124,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4792\/revisions\/5124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}