The people behind Park Istra
Park Istra is guided by people with long experience in environmental protection, volunteering, education, science, rural development, and local community work.
Experience with a deeply local purpose.
Park Istra is not only an organisation. It is a network of people who believe that practical action, community trust, and long-term commitment can change the life of a region.
At its centre are Petra and Janez Matos, who co-founded Park Istra after years of environmental and volunteering work. Around them is a board and community network that brings together expertise in geography, environmental protection, science, sustainable development, rural heritage, and local action.
Petra and Janez Matos
Partners in life and in the creation of Park Istra, Petra and Janez built the project from a shared belief in volunteering, environmental responsibility, and practical solidarity.
Petra Matos
Petra Matos is the founder of Park Istra and one of Slovenia’s most experienced figures in environmental volunteering. For many years, she was the president and founder of Ecologists Without Borders, which became one of the most recognisable environmental NGOs in Slovenia under her leadership.
In 2010 and 2012, Petra led Let’s Clean Slovenia in One Day and Clean Slovenia 2012. The latter connected 300,000 volunteers in a single day and became the largest environmental volunteer project in Slovenian history.
In Park Istra, Petra works as a volunteer coordinator and mentor. She has mentored around 1,200 volunteers, many of them young people with fewer opportunities, and developed the Park Istra Hosting Model to connect, support, and empower young people during their stay.
Janez Matos, PhD
Janez Matos works in Park Istra as director, organiser of volunteer actions, and mentor to international volunteers. Before Park Istra, he worked as a project manager and member of the board of directors at Ecologists Without Borders.
He received the Outstanding Student Achievement Award for organising, planning, and implementing the first national census of illegal dumpsites, coordinating and leading more than a thousand volunteers.
In 2012, Janez became a member of the Environmental Protection Council of the Republic of Slovenia. In 2013, he started the Park Istra project, and in 2016 he completed his doctoral studies in Environmental Protection at the University of Ljubljana.
Knowledge, oversight, and local grounding
Park Istra’s board brings together people with complementary expertise in geography, environmental science, sustainable energy, rural development, and community work.
Valentina Brečko Grubar, PhD
Valentina Brečko Grubar completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Geography at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana, with a focus on regional ecology and environmental protection. She teaches in the fields of physical and environmental geography and participates in the Management of Sustainable Development study programme.
Marjan Bele, PhD
Marjan Bele is a researcher in the Materials Chemistry Laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry, where he works on advanced materials for sustainable and low-carbon energy solutions, including materials for lithium-ion batteries and electro-catalysis. He is co-author of more than ninety scientific articles and several patents.
Klaudijo Starc, BSE
Klaudijo Starc has long-standing experience in rural development and local community projects. He co-created several local and municipal initiatives and was deeply involved in the restoration and recognition of Smokvica, supporting the preservation of the village’s architectural, natural, and cultural identity.
Park Istra is also built by volunteers, locals, and partners.
The people behind Park Istra are not only those formally listed as founders, directors, or board members. The organisation is shaped every day by international volunteers, local residents, partner organisations, schools, farms, associations, and communities across Slovenian Istria.
This wider network is what makes Park Istra work. The team listens to local needs, coordinates practical action, supports volunteers during their stay, and creates bridges between people who want to help and people or places that need support.
A living network of solidarity
- International volunteers from across Europe and beyond
- Local residents, families, farms, and villages
- Schools, elderly homes, and community organisations
- Environmental, cultural, and heritage partners
- Mentors and coordinators supporting young volunteers
Meet the work behind the people.
Learn more about Park Istra’s projects, volunteering opportunities, or ways to support our work in the region.