With each passing day, we humans are losing a little of our connection to nature – with this reminder, the World Wildlife Fund is organizing its largest international event – Earth Hour.

The global initiative traditionally takes place on the last Saturday of March, when millions around the world turn off the lights in their homes. Important public buildings remain in the dark between 8.30 pm and 9.30 pm local time, calling for a more sustainable and responsible future.

Today, more than 5 million people in 7,000 cities in 190 countries around the world, including Bulgaria, are expected to join the 14^th edition of Earth Hour.

Earth Hour in Bulgaria will pay special attention to the care of an iconic species for the native forests - the brown bear, whose survival has been in serious jeopardy in the last ten years. In an attempt to counteract this negative trend, at the end of 2020 WWF Bulgaria created a Rescue Bear Squad of experts, which is already in the field and working successfully in the Central Balkan Mountains and in the Western Rhodopes. Their goal is to study bear populations and protect local people from unwanted encounters with bears.

Compiled by Vesela Krasteva

English version Rositsa Petkova