Urbanisation is a common cause of the loss of biological diversity. The most diverse natural areas in urban centres are city parks. The aim of this study was to examine the importance of songbirds for park visitors, the environment, and biodiversity in cities, based on the example of the Croatian coastal belt. A survey was conducted in the first half of 2024 (survey N = 662). The results show a low degree of basic biological knowledge of the main songbird species present in urban parks along the Croatian coastal belt. Citizens, on average, had a good basic understanding of the relationships between park songbirds and the environment. There were no statistically significant differences between cities of residence concerning basic biological knowledge of the main park songbird species in the Croatian coastal belt (p = 0.076), basic knowledge of the relationships between park songbirds and the environment (p = 0492), interactions between humans and songbirds in parks (p = 0.403), or opinions on conserving park songbird populations (p = 0.115). The final analysis confirmed that there was a statistically significant difference in education levels among participants regarding basic biological knowledge of the main park songbird species in the Croatian coastal belt (p = 0.001), basic knowledge of the relationships between park songbirds and the environment (p = 0.014), interactions between humans and songbirds in parks (p = 0.001), and opinions on conserving park songbird populations (p = 0.041). The dominant role of female respondents also raises the question of why male respondents do not participate in the research, which opens up opportunities for new research that would mainly deal with the topic of gender differences in attitudes towards park birds.

Striving for achievement is in the nature of every individual, because with each new achievement, whether easier or more difficult, the individual prepares for new challenges in life. At the same time, in order to achieve a certain achievement, the individual also believes that he will receive an appropriate reward for his work, i.e. he believes in the justice of the society that surrounds him. The aim of this research was to determine whether there is a connection between the pursuit of achievement and belief in a just world. 246 respondents, student population from Mostar, Zenica and Bihać participated in the research. The questionnaires used in this research were: the scale of striving for achievement and the scale of belief in a just world, along with certain questions of a sociodemographic nature. The obtained results showed that there is a statistically significant correlation between striving for achievement and belief in a just world, but it is very weak. Then, the findings show us that there is a statistically significant difference in the striving for achievement with regard to gender. Namely, male respondents (M= 34.43) showed a greater desire for achievement than female respondents (M=29.76). In contrast to the striving for achievement, there is no statistically significant difference with regard to gender in the belief in a just world scale (0.643>0.05). Finally, the results were obtained that showed that there is no statistically significant difference in the striving for achievement (0.606>0.05) and belief in a just world (0.648) with regard to the most common assessment of students.

Urban horticulture as a segment of urban agriculture can take various forms: home gardens, allotment farming, community gardens, community-supported agriculture, vertical farming, etc. After the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia and neighboring countries, growing horticultural plants in urban and suburban areas became increasingly popular. The aim of the study was to investigate citizens’ attitudes towards the benefits and support of urban horticulture, its relationship to the environment, and needs and relevance in studies in the cities of Šibenik, Split, Mostar and Skopje. The research methods used for the purpose of this study were theoretical analysis method, survey and analytical descriptive and statistical method. The research was conducted online during the first half of 2024 on a sample of 506 respondents. The main goal of the paper was to examine the views of citizens on urban horticulture. With specific objectives, the views of citizens were examined on the benefits of urban horticulture, the relationship between urban horticulture and the environment, urban horticulture and plant protection, support for urban horticulture, and the needs and trends of urban horticulture. and plant protection, support for urban horticulture, needs and trends of urban horticulture. The results showed that citizens are mostly positive towards growing horticultural plants in urban and suburban areas without pollution. In urban horticulture, respondents prefer using ecological principles and products. Female respondents expressed more positive attitudes towards the fashionability and need for urban horticulture. Respondents from Skopje showed the most positive attitudes towards the benefits of urban horticulture and its relationship to the environment. Also, there is no statistically significant difference in attitudes towards urban horticulture with regard to the location of residence. The research contributes to the trend of development and promotion of urban horticulture with a special emphasis on the importance of environmental preservation. It also contributes to the development of an interdisciplinary method that connects natural and social sciences, and develops an empirical approach that can improve urban culture with the aim of preserving the environment.