Since 2006, the National Trust EcoFund has presented annual Environmental Protection Awards named after Mimi Pramatarova, the first Director of Rila National Park.
The "Mimi Pramatarova" Environmental Protection Contest aims to encourage Bulgarian students to develop a conscious and responsible attitude towards protecting nature and biodiversity in our country.
Each year the contest has a different theme – “Nature and People of Bulgaria in the 21st Century”, “The Forest – An Endangered World”, “If They Could Speak...”, “Healing Herb – Hidden in a Glass Jar”, “The Extraordinary Ordinary Birds”, “The Renovated Huts of Rila”, and others.
Over the nineteen years of the contest, more than 1,000 students aged 16 to 18 from over 100 municipalities across the country have participated with their works. The awards have been won by students from different parts of Bulgaria – Dupnitsa, Stara Zagora, Sevlievo, Smolyan, Montana, Gotse Delchev, Sofia, Plovdiv, Debelets, Pazardzhik, Rakitovo, Blagoevgrad, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Samokov, Silistra, Bobov Dol, and many others, the EcoFund reports.
The contest is organized in partnership between the National Trust EcoFund, the Directorate of Rila National Park, and the “Ecological Forum Plus” Foundation, established by the associates and supporters of Mimi Pramatarova.
