On April 4, the territory of the Central estate of Priokhovo-Terrasny State Nature Reserve was visited by children from social rehabilitation centers. Our old acquaintances and frequent guests – pupils of “Serpukhov (district) social rehabilitation center for minors” and “Serpukhov city social rehabilitation center for minors” came to visit us. The new informative program, devoted to the Day of Birds was prepared by the staff of “Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve” together with the chief specialist of environmental education department of “Komandorsky State Reserve” Anna Strokan. The theme of the event was bird species and their peculiarities. The children got acquainted with the birds living near Moscow by visiting the nature museum of Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve. Then a fascinating story about the peculiarities of life of birds in the distant lands and waters of the easternmost frontier of Russia – the Commander Islands – waited for them. The material was introduced in the form of presentation, with fragments of films and short videos. On the big screen, colonies of tukuliks and gull bazaars, were replaced by snow grouse and polar owls. At the end of the event there was a master-classes on painting bags and magnets.
On the territory of Moscow region it has warmed up, the snow cover has melted and the temperature is steadily above zero. As a result, the risk of natural fires has risen sharply. Order of the Committee of Forestry Moscow Region, April 11, 2022 in the forests near Moscow Region opens fire season, which will last until October 31. At this time, all fire-fighting forces and means are transferred to high readiness, begins to carry out ground and aerial patrolling of the territory. On the territory of Prioksko-Terrasny State Natural Biosphere Reserve a firefighting season is also declared. Statistics shows that a greater number of wildfires occurs during the weekend when people massively relax in nature, 60-70% of them occur within a radius of five kilometers from the settlements. The most common natural fires are grass fires. This happens because of the lack of fire safety measures, as well as the deliberate burning of last year’s grass. Be especially attentive when going out into the nature! Do not make fires in the wrong places, do not burn garbage, do not set fire to dry grass, do not throw out unextinguished matches and cigarette butts. And of course do not allow children to fool around with matches, remember that careless handling of fire can lead to disastrous consequences!
The post office has been knocking down, delivering strange parcels to the Central Farmstead of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Nature Biosphere Reserve. They came in batches of 3-5 and sometimes 7-8 pieces a day! Of different weight and size, from all over Russia! Inside the packages were “sparrows” – crafts from a variety of materials: paper, stone, seeds, dough, wood, cones, nutshells, bark, feathers, cardboard, plastic, thread, wool, cutlery and other materials, the origin of which cannot be determined at a glance. All of the works are made with great skill, although the authors of many of them were registered people of a very young age. A total of 62 works took part in the inter-regional ecological contest “House sparrow – bird of the year 2022”. According to the rules of the contest the title “Best Handicraft” can be awarded to the work, delivered to Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve before April 15, as the committee of employees of the Department of Environmental Education and Cognitive Tourism must study each work as carefully as possible and give a fair verdict!
In April 2022, as part of the project “School of Protected Friends” the specialists of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve held two lectures for students of the “Serpukhov College”. On April 15, students heard a presentation by Sidorov Evgeny, state inspector for environmental protection, on “The protection of natural complexes and objects on the territory of the Reserve”. On April 22, a report on “Volunteer movement of the Reserve” was presented by Sergei Maslov, public relations specialist. Evgeny Sidorov: “I am honored to take part in the educational project of our institution. After all, the key task of the reserve is to protect natural areas in order to preserve biodiversity and maintain the natural state of protected natural complexes and objects. At the same time, the knowledge obtained by the children during the discussion of the regime of special protection of the Reserve’s territory, I am sure, will be useful to them when planning recreation in nature and will help in forming an understanding of “conscious tourism”. Sergei Maslov: “I was lucky enough to hold the final lecture. The listeners have received full knowledge about the work and the structure of the nature reserve. I told them about the Volunteer Center of the Prioksko-Terrasniy Reserve. The topic was close and understandable, caused a lively and vigorous reaction. After all, in the near future, they will come to the Reserve as volunteers, touch the wildlife, and visit the main attraction – the Central Bison Nursery. Many of them will see the pride of the reserve, the bison, for the first time. All project participants will also receive volunteer booklets, a small, but helpful aid when entering higher educational institutions. We will tell a detailed story about how the visit of the students of Serpukhov Humanitarian College will go afterwards. Since September, the project “School of Reserved Friends” will be realized already for new second-year students and will have a greater number of lectures: theoretical and practical classes.
The Prioksko-Terrasny State Nature Biosphere Reserve has launched a new, long-awaited volunteer season! We open it at the end of April and this date traditionally coincides with the international action of support and conservation of specially protected natural areas – “March of parks”. This year the opening event falls on Saturday, April 23. Half a month before the appointed day there was a storm of preparatory work: working inventory was repaired, the front of work was determined, registration was opened and thousands of little things, which accompany any mass event, were solved. At the appointed time, an impressive team of helpers gathered! As always, people of varying ages from all walks of life were there: actors, students, workers, and teachers. Even a few participants of volunteer expeditions to the Far North and our regular volunteers who have been coming here for several years took part in the first event of the 2022 season. Everybody was eagerly waiting for the work to begin, and there was plenty of it! On the territory of the Ecological Park “Tree House” volunteers met such deadwood, which had to be taken out by several people at once. The shrub trimming crew even needed reinforcement after a while, as the work was extremely difficult, and some stubborn branches resisted almost all types of garden tools. A memorable event of the volunteer day was the rescue of two gray toads from the road, which during the breeding season absolutely lose their vigilance and often die under the wheels of vehicles. As a result, in spite of the difficulties, the tourist sites and stands on the Central Farmstead were as good as new, benches in the rest areas were carefully washed, and there was a noticeable increase in the cones on the floor at the Leshy Hut – the little volunteers tirelessly collected them while their parents were busy. Volunteer work was finished at exactly the moment when the volunteers were nearing the end of their strength. At the end of the event the tired helpers had tea and an excursion to the bison. So, volunteer season 2022 can be considered open. Many thanks to everyone who came to help and see you again! Stay tuned for more news.
