We invite you to take part in the continuation of the ecological and educational project “12 Wonders of the Prioksky Forest”. October 1, 2021 starts a new stage, devoted to representatives of flora and fauna characteristic for the territory of Prioksko-Terrasny State Nature Biosphere Reserve. Many people associate autumn mood not only with moping and melancholy, but also with home comfort, a warm blanket and tasty supplies for the winter. We decided to dedicate the eighth chapter of the Project to an animal that knows everything about the comfort of its den. The hero of October is a badger. Did you know that badger is very cheerful – he loves to play with other badgers and attend “friend parties”? We suggest you to make a handicraft and share some other interesting facts about this amazing animal!

The international day of the animals took place on October 4. The employees of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve decided to celebrate this environmental holiday by visiting the Cinderella kindergarten in Serpukhov. At the meeting, the children in the older and preschool groups were told about the importance of the holiday and the mission of specially protected natural areas. Most of all, the children remembered the virtual excursion “The Road to the Bison. Looking at slides with pictures, many boys and girls saw wild bulls for the first time. Taking into account the age of the preschoolers, the Reserve staff told them about the life of the bison in the nursery.

A large-scale event to collect garbage was held this Tuesday in the protected area of Prioksko-Terrasny State Nature Biosphere Reserve. The work was carried out jointly by the staff of the branch “Russian forest” of Mosoblles, Prioksko-Terrasny State Nature Reserve and volunteers from the editorial board of the municipal newspaper of the Domodedovo district “PRIZYV”. As part of the event, work was done to eliminate the landfill of household and construction waste left on the side of the reclaimed road on the outskirts of Danki. Building materials, window frames, everything from bottles to disposable cups were dumped in the woods, not in places designated for solid waste collection!

We present you the first publication devoted to the tour guides. These people accompany our guests on the excursion route “The Road to the Bison”. We hope that the information will be interesting and useful to those who are planning their first trip to the Reserve and to those who have already been there. Marina Muzychenko, an employee of the department of ecological education and educational tourism. She knows the genealogy of bison and their nicknames and unmistakably determines who is who. Tatiana Dolinina is the youngest tour guide; she began her activities after graduating from school in 2013. For her, the reserve is nature, silence, relaxation. Anastasia Koroleva – graduated from pedagogical college with red diploma. She tries to make people happier after her excursion. Svetlana Milkina, an employee of the department of ecological education and educational tourism of the Federal State Institution “Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve”, is usually the first to meet our guests, forming excursion groups. At the same time, she is happy to conduct a tour, which is always orderly and showing smiles on the faces of tourists. Nasonova Valentina – a lover of the forest and its inhabitants, a real treasure trove of information, which she generously shares with guests. Constantly increases the level of her knowledge, so her excursions easily answer any question about the flora and fauna of the Priokskogo forest. Koshevskaya Inna is a tour guide with more than 20 years of experience. She easily travels hundreds of kilometers to come to the reserve and give a tour, explaining this by the fact that she rests her soul here. Sukhanova Inna is an employee of the cognitive tourism department, which means that she is well versed in any issues of protected life, with interesting stories about which she generously complements her excursions. Ableyev Mars is the most experienced guide. At the same time, his excursion is the fastest and most dynamic. Gladkikh Elena – has been working as a tour guide since 2020. Dreams of stroking a bison and scratching its nose. Knows every resident of the nursery by name. Alexei Vorobyov is a lawyer by training. His tour is complemented by a detailed account of the history of the reserve from the times preceding its official creation. Demkina Tatiana is nice, friendly and quiet. On her excursion you will feel like home! Podstavkin Timur passed his tour guide exam in May 2021. You can recognize Timur by his trademark umbrella, which he always takes with him on a tour and uses as a pointer. Galina Sokolova is an employee of the scientific department, an expert in phenology, knows everything about changes in nature. Her experience as a guide is 42 years! Shmidt Anton is an engineer, despite his outward austerity loves the nature, with his heart and soul he cares for all living things. During his excursions, he tries to tell not only about the bison, but also about other inhabitants of the reserve.  Dmitry Veprentsev is an employee of the background monitoring station. Terekhova Natalia – has lived in the reserve since early childhood. Reznichenko Alexei – experience as a tour guide since 2019. Kalinina Olga – leading environmental education specialist, our staff photographer. Vasily Demidov – deputy director for scientific work, author of articles and a book about the reserve. Lyudmila Shchegoleva – has been driving excursions for 12 years. Maslov Sergey – Head of the volunteer movement in the reserve, public relations specialist. He is the author of most of the publications on social networks and on the website of our institution. His work experience as a tour guide is 6 years. On his tours he tells a lot about the fauna of the reserve, based on his own experience.

The VIII All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference “Sustainable Development of Specially Protected Natural Areas” was held on October 7-9 at the Krasnaya Polyana Resort. The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Krasnodar Region and the Imereti Lowlands Nature Ornithological Park organized the event. The conference was devoted to the development of ecological tourism and scientific activities in SPNAs of Russia.

In early September, an event took place that we had been waiting for. RusHydro and the Khakass Republic Branch of the Russian Geographical Society sponsored the improvement of conditions for the red-listed species in the Central Bison Nursery. The electronic auction for the right to carry out repairs to the bison pens was won by FRONTLINE. After a short preparation, the contractor began fulfilling its obligations. On September 24, the bison from several enclosures, to their surprise, got food not on their usual feeding ground, but close to it. The point is that the contractor began preparatory work. The old pavement was dismantled and the preparation of the site for concreting began. It took just a few days to make the foundation, erect the formwork and pour concrete over it. The bison did not even have time to examine the unexpected guests carefully.  But it would take almost a month for the animals to return to their usual feeding places! It takes 28 days for the concrete to get hard and strong. The temporary inconvenience will soon be outdated. In just a few days, the hoofs of the largest mammals of Europe will step on the sites with a new surface. The contemporaries of mammoths will check the quality of the work performed!

Today we will tell you about the employees of Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve, who made their personal contribution to the basis of the future activities of the institution. Gennady Nikolaevich Likhachev worked in the Reserve in the 1950s and became the founder of ornithological research, to which he actively involved voluntary helpers. Sergei Dmitrievich Kuligin, ornithologist, continued Likhachev’s work. Through his efforts, experimental ornithological areas were formed, where annual counts of nesting birds were conducted. In addition, the methods he developed for observing the ornithofauna in natural conditions became the basis for subsequent studies. Pavel Aleksandrovich Smirnov dealt with the issues of forest condition and study of vegetation growing on the territory of the Reserve. In 1958, based on his thirty-five-year work was published the book “Flora”, which became a handbook for geobotanical research. Much merit in the study of rare steppe vegetation, the Oka flora, belongs to Vladimir Ivanovich Danilov. He studied the Doly tract and their unique species diversity, which to this day arouses keen scientific interest among botanists. At present, our institution employs followers of these great people – experts in their field. For example, since September 1975, Viktor Ivanovich Pererva, the author of the dissertation “Comparative Ecology of Birds of Prey on Protected Territories and Adjacent Anthropogenic Lands,” has been a member of our reserve, who later dedicated his life to the restoration of the bison population. Galina Sokolova began her work as a laboratory assistant at the Reserve in July 1978. For four decades, she has supervised the most important section “Phenology” in the Annals of Nature, as well as an all-season observation of processes and phenological phenomena in natural conditions, recording and analyzing numerous research results. Vasily Eduardovich Demidov joined the reserve in the spring of 2016 and is currently the deputy director for scientific work. During his work, he conducted an in-depth study of the history of the reserve and wrote a book “Human impact on the landscapes of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve from ancient times to the present day”. Vasily Eduardovich penetrated the topic and studied not only scientific, but also historical archival materials. Dear colleagues, the team of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve congratulates all those who work in the field of reserve business. We wish you optimism, good health and confidence in the future! Thank you for your daily work and the nature you preserve for the future generations!

There is an annual tradition: on the Day of Tourism to sum up the results of the tourist season. According to the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Information and Analytical Center for Support of Protected Areas” of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia, the Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve is one of the ten most visited protected areas. During the nine months of this year 96,595 people visited our tourist sites. It’s nice that interest in ecological and educational tourism is growing, and more and more people choose nature observation as their recreation. The active development of tourist infrastructure largely contributes to this. In our reserve, by far the most popular site to visit is the ecological route “The road to the bison”. But, in addition, many tourists enjoy visiting the ecological trail “Through the Leaves” and the ecological park “Tree House”. September 30 Julia Kupetskaya, the head of Serpukhov, spoke about tourism as one of the main points of development of the city during a gala meeting devoted to the Day of Tourism. Then there was an award ceremony for professionals in the tourism industry, who have made the greatest contribution to the development of the industry. Director of Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve Svetlana Rodionova was marked by a letter of thanks for high professionalism in the work, a great contribution to the development of tourism projects in the city district of Serpukhov.

Very soon it will be a beautiful time and we will all plunge into the atmosphere of the most fabulous holiday. On the eve of the New Year, Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve announces the start of the regional ecological contest “Toy for the Reserve Beauty – Our Christmas Tree”.  All registered participants will be invited to a debriefing on December 18, 2021, which will be held at the Reserve’s Central Manor during the Snowflake Day event. The works must be presented to the jury on the day of the summing up, after which they will all be hung on our New Year’s Tree!