On July 1, 2021, a new fifth chapter begins, dedicated to representatives of fauna and flora characteristic of the territory of Prioksko-Terrasny State Nature Biosphere Reserve. The fifth chapter, which accompanies the hot July, begins with the marsh predator. However, she does not track down her prey by footprints and does not ravage birds’ nests. She is motionless, baiting small insects for bait. As you might have guessed, we are not talking about an animal. Our predator is a plant. Its leaves have numerous brownish-red glandular hairs that secrete a sticky liquid resembling dewdrop. Insects fly to the sweet smell emitted by these droplets and stick to them. This same “glue” digests the captured prey. The flowers of the dewdrop, on the other hand, are rather unsightly – white with five petals and a bell-shaped 5-part calyx. As part of the contest, we invite you to draw a picture of this unusual plant.

The first Pushchino geographical readings were held in the science city last Thursday. Puschino House of Scientists was chosen as the venue for the event. Deputy Director for Research Vasily Demidov presented FSBI «Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve» at the event. He presented a report on the organization of modern field studies on the territory of the Reserve. Here, in recent decades, large-scale soil studies have been organized, as a result – detailed maps of different types of soils and landscapes have been created, the anthropogenic load for the period prior to the establishment of the SPNA has been studied. Let us hope that the tradition of holding Pushchino Geographic Readings will be continued next year, serving the cause of popularization of science and exchange of experience between scientists studying our nature.

Scientists and psychologists all over the world unanimously agree that the best material is remembered best when it is played. The employees of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve considered this fact and prepared a rich educational program. The Serpukhov citizens who came to Komsomolsky Park in Serpukhov appreciated it. There was a whole series of training workshops in the open air. The kids amicably assembled puzzles and learned the similarities and differences between bison and bison. They got acquainted with different footprints and learned to know which animals left them. They took part in an informative ecological quiz. We must state the fact: the material of the open field trip lesson from Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve was mastered very well! The Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve prepared small souvenirs for all participants of the interactive program.

As part of the development of the program “Organization of cooperation with the territories adjacent to protected areas” in the only reserve of the Moscow region a friendly meeting with representatives of the company “Zemlya MO” took place. Development Group. The meeting was held on the territory of the Central estate of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Nature Biosphere Reserve. The Reserve employees, as participants from the receiving side, showed the guests popular tourist routes, told about the uniqueness of the specially protected natural territory and its inhabitants. The guests, in turn, did not come empty-handed. In preparation for the Open Volunteer Day, scheduled for July 10, the Reserve received funds for whitewashing the vegetable storage, as well as all the necessary consumables for the planned work.

The Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve presents the photo exhibition “Symbol of the Year – Pride of the Century” dedicated to Europe’s largest mammal – the bison. Now Serpukhov citizens are able to see rare pictures taken by the Reserve employees and professional photographers, get acquainted with the history of the animal, which at the beginning of the last century, almost ceased to exist in the wild, learn interesting facts about the only reserve in the Moscow region.

A unique documentary work devoted to the history of Europe’s last wild bull, the bison, has appeared in the library of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve. A book by Viktor Ivanovich Pererva titled “The Russian Bison New Life” has been published. Senior Researcher, Head of the Central European Bison Nursery from 1976 to 1979. He has devoted his entire life to studying the bison, and participated in developing the “Strategy for Bison Conservation in Russia” adopted in 2002 and the new strategy adopted in 2020.  He is the author of more than 50 books on the bison. A large book entitled “The Return of the Bison” was published in 1992. This work tells about the fate and way of life of the largest mammal in Europe, tells the story of the restoration of the population of this animal, the complete destruction, which was avoided only through the joint efforts of people from many countries around the world. “The Russian Bison New Life” is the logical continuation of “The Return of the Bison. Not quite thirty years have passed, very difficult from a socio-economic point of view, during which much has changed, both in the fate of the country and in the fate of the hero of the story, the bison. Victor Ivanovich: “I invite you, readers, to get acquainted with my book, telling about the current situation of the Russian bison revival. The publication was conceived several years ago, and the information was collected over two decades. A huge amount of material has been accumulated, both from field research and from analysis of the work done by my colleagues in this field. The impetus for writing this book was the pandemic in 2020. It was impossible to make expeditions and I had to spend some time in a hospital bed. I had a lot of time and was able to sit down and analyze my more than 20 years of experience with bison recovery in Russia. So, within a few months a text was born, then we put it in the form of a book, equipped with lots of photographs, table materials, and an analysis of other people’s experiences. As a result, this publication was born.

On July 26, representatives of the only nature reserve near Moscow came to our country’s largest airport in order to “catch tourists”! “City Day” – an event with such a name, held by the Tourist Information Center of Serpukhov within the framework of the governor’s program “Our Moscow Region”. Experts of “Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve” told everyone about their sights and held an exclusive master class to determine the traces of animals “Beast in the footsteps of any. No adult had a chance to take part in it, because the little travelers liked the kinetic sand so much, that even after learning all about each trace and its owner, the little travelers were in no hurry to leave, and proceeded to the artistic molding. Despite the fact that the participants of the event were waiting for the seashores, their unanimous opinion was – and there are a lot of interesting things in the South suburbs!

To spend the day actively and profitably, to take a walk in the protected forest and see the real bison – this is the real happiness of children! The employees of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve always welcome young guests, this is a very grateful and inquisitive audience. So when the leaders of the “Serpukhovsky (district) Social Rehabilitation Center for Minors” appealed to the Reserve with a suggestion to take a delegation of children, we supported this initiative. The more so since the children from the Center are regular participants in our events and activities timed to coincide with Earth Day, Bird Day and Feed the Birds in Winter. On July 29, children were invited to an unusual ecological event called “Vacation in the Reserve 2021. Employees of the department of ecological education and informative tourism prepared an extensive program, including a lot of interesting tasks, educational quest and two ecological trails.