EU co-funds new EUROWILD project in latest support for EUROWA

In a boost for the EUROWA Network, the EU’s Erasmus+ Programme has awarded a co-financing grant for the EUROWILD (European Oiled Wildlife Response Life-long Learning Development) project from December 2024 – November 2026. The project’s main aim is to improve the life-long learning of EUROWA network, grow the pool of experts and develop new training courses for oiled wildlife response in Europe. Sea Alarm is the overall project coordinator with partners ProBird in Germany, Submon in Spain, VOC Oostende in Belgium and WWF Finland. The project has been awarded €250,000.  

Within the Erasmus+ Programme funding stream, Cooperation Partnerships is a unique stream of grants to allow organisations to increase the quality of their activities, develop their networks and exchange and develop new and best practices. With this in mind, the EUROWILD partners developed 5 Work Packages (WPs), each being led by a different project partner. 

Here is an overview of some of the main outcomes from the WPs: 

• The development and organisation of new EUROWA Field SPECIALIST and Post-wash SPECIALIST courses.
• Development of a Train-the-Trainer Package and an online EUROWA BASIC course.
• A two-day workshop for European authorities focusing on better oiled wildlife preparedness and integration of volunteers into a response. 
• A new Assessment Team training course for highly qualified EUROWA experts.
• The organisation of a full EUROWA Network meeting in person. 

This brand new project follows the principles and standards of the EUROWA network with a clear emphasis on the life-long learning aspects of oiled wildlife preparedness. The EUROWA network believes that experts who stop learning, stop being experts. Thanks to the new Erasmus+ co-funding, we can continue with this philosophy. 

Visit our new EUROWILD webpage for more details about the project or contact secretariat@eurowa.eu.