Colouring picture – Ancient Beech Forests

The “search and find” pictures help children to discover the UNESCO World Heritage properties in Switzerland in a simple way. 

What is a UNESCO World Heritage property?

Imagine that there are special places all over the world that are so important and beautiful that we want to protect them forever. These places are for example old castles, big mountains, ancient cities or beautiful natural areas. Some of them are so old that they were built or created many hundreds or thousands of years ago.

All these places are on a List of UNESCO (an organisation of the United Nations). This list shows that these places are important for the whole world, not just for one country. We can therefore be very proud of the UNESCO World Heritage properties in Switzerland and should take good care of them.

The World Heritage Site "Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe"

The beech forests in Europe are very special because they are among the last truly old and natural forests. Many huge beech trees grow in these forests, which have been there for hundreds of years and show how the trees have adapted to the changes in nature over the years. They also show us what nature looks like when it grows all on its own, without man changing much. In Switzerland, two such forests in the canton of Ticino (Lodano, Busai and Soladino valleys) and in the canton of Solothurn (Bettlachstock) have been recognised as World Heritage properties.

UNESCO has designated these forests as a World Heritage property because they are so important for nature and for many animals and plants. They should be well protected so that they last forever and we can all learn from them how important it is to protect nature.

More information and ordering options for the “search and find” book: edu.ourheritage.ch