Names for newborns
“As you name the ship, so shall it sail,” says a catch phrase familiar to many since childhood. Metaphorically speaking, in the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve, the “ships” are bison. Spring and summer are the time when brood is born in the Bison Breeding Centre. The first calves born this year were from bison (bison bonasus) Musyka and Munika, and from bison (bison bison) Marina. Now the kids are nameless. But we need to correct it as soon as possible. These are the rules, each animal must be saved not only in the pedigree of the Bison Breeding Centre, but also in the International Studbook. We ask you to help us come up with names for the calves. The main condition is that names must begin with the syllable “Mu” for bison (bison bonasus) and the syllable “Ma” for bison (bison bison). On June 19 the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve celebrates its 80th anniversary! The reserve was established in 1945 and is the same age as the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Let’s come up with resonant, historical and memorable nicknames for the calves born in 2025.
“Zapovednaya Azbuka” – classes are going on
On Monday, May 26, the specialists from the Department of Environmental Education of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve went with “Zapovednaya Azbuka” program to two preschool departments of the Turovo Secondary School — to the villages Mirny and Turovo. The kids of the younger and older groups welcomed the guests cordially and agreed to test the new program. The children carefully watched the videos and listened to the comments of the presenters, were acquainted with the cards with interest and solved the puzzles, and enjoyed playing “guess who’s on my card.” And for the time spent and the valuable experience gained by the reserve’s specialists, at the end of the events everyone received a set of “Zapovednaya Azbuka” cards as a gift! The second lesson was successful! On May 31, on the eve of the Children’s Day, a new lesson ” Zapovednaya Azbuka” has been prepared for everyone. You need to register on the reserve’s website if you want to participate in it.
Bison are the best
The Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve took part in the social advertising contest for the first time! XV LIME International Festival of Social Advertising and Communications has opened two special nominations dedicated to ecology and reserved areas. The partner of the festival, the Reserve Embassy Foundation, supported the nomination “Reserve Message”. It focused on the unique ecosystems of specially protected natural areas — nature reserves and national parks. The participants were invited to reveal the beauty of wildlife through social advertising, emphasize the need to take care of it and show the importance of conservation. The Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve presented the project of the ecological trail “The Road to the Bison”, created in 2022 by a creative group consisting of Yulia Nikolaeva, Boris Globa and Nikolai Sertakov. On May 24, the award ceremony for the winners of the XV LIME International Festival of Social Advertising and Communications took place at the High School of Economics Cultural Center. In a solemn ceremony, Irina Pushkova, Chief specialist in Environmental Education at the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve, won a special diploma for the 2nd place. Now a video about the life of bison will be seen in Abu Dhabi at the World Conservation Congress.
“Zapovednaya Azbuka” and “Night at the Museum”
The Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve has joined the All-Russian action “Night at the Museum”. As we have already reported, our reserve recently became the winner of the small grants competition from the “Green Mission” Foundation. Our project “Zapovednaya Azbuka”, developed by the specialists of the Department of Environmental Education, intended for preschool and primary school age children, reached the final. This is a comprehensive lesson that includes a quiz, a master class and a game with cards from a set. The moment has come to hold the first lesson! It was decided to coincide it with the action “Night at the Museum”. The big advantage was that this event is traditionally held for the children of the staff of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve, which means that we could get feedback right away – directly from the parents. During the acquaintance with the cards of the “Zapovednaya Azbuka”, the participants were shown a video of materials taken on the territory of the reserve using camera traps. The viewing was accompanied by a story about each animal: its features, habits, and even funny stories about how it was possible to get these shots. The kids were excited! Everyone received a card with an image of an animal, and after watching the videos, the bravest came forward and, as in the famous game “Crocodile”, showed their characters. Unexpectedly, two fathers turned out to be among the brave souls, who invisibly took possession of the cards and coped with the task perfectly, along with the children! The noisy children gradually calmed down, redirecting their energy to a master class on painting plaster figures of animals. Everyone was in a bit of a hurry – it was felt that the long-awaited tea party with treats was coming soon. The first event was “excellent”! The focus group (the children of the reserve staff) was satisfied, which means it’s time to move on to a new level!
Fire again
The fire season began with fires in the protected area of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve. Last weekend and at the beginning of the week, employees of the reserve’s security department went out to extinguish fires several times. The longest fire control was in a power line along the western border of the reserve in the lake Stoylo area. This area is traditionally used at weekends by numerous vacationers. A carelessly thrown cigarette butt or a deliberately lit fire ignited the dry grass, and a grass-roots fire started. The fire, fanned by a strong wind, reached the edge of the forest, spread to dry deadwood, and the forest floor caught fire. A fire on the border of the reserve is always a big danger. Until 1945, when the conservation regime was established and an observer service was organized, fires were on a huge scale — forests burned down at the size of blocks. But since the establishment of the reserve, thanks to rapid control, it is almost always possible to extinguish the fire on time. However, there are still small areas of burnt forests on the territory of the reserve, which were lost after the grass-roots fires of 2002-2010. In the vast majority of cases, these fires came from the protected area from the village Luzhki and lake Stoylo, when the fire spread over the plowing (minstrips), as a result of which the most valuable pine forests of the reserve died. It is good that this time the smoke rising from the power line was quickly noticed at the post of the forestry “Russkii Les” and the observers of the reserve. Fire trucks from the forestry department and the reserve arrived at the place of fire without wasting time and began extinguishing the fire together. Fighting the fire was complicated by strong winds and already burning dry deadwood. The fire was extinguished from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., however, the next day the fire broke out again from one of the smoldering deadwood. The fire was extinguished and all the suspicious areas were additionally flooded with water, but a day later, in the late evening, the campers lit the forest floor in another place — in the area of village Respublika. The fire danger is very high, and a weekend of picnics and barbecue is ahead. In this regard, the management of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve warns vacationers about responsibility not only for violating fire safety rules in forests during a fire season.
Young artists have received recognition
On May 28, 2025, a solemn event, dedicated to the startup of the unique project “Zapovednaya Azbuka”, was held at the Buzovkin Children’s Art School. The project was initiated by the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve and realized with the support of the Green Mission Foundation. It is made to introduce preschoolers and younger schoolchildren to the amazing world of nature through creativity and interactive activities. “Zapovednaya Azbuka” helps to foster a caring attitude towards nature in children from an early age, combining science, art and education. The project is based on colorful cards with images of plants and animals of the reserve, which were drawn by students of the art school. Each drawing has become not only a work of children’s creativity, but also an important element of environmental education. The concept of the project was well expressed by the slogan: “Children draw for children.” The young artists put warmth and love to nature into their work, and now their paintings will help other children learn more about the flora and fauna of their native land. The event was attended by honored guests, including representatives of Serpukhov Administration, the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve, the Green Mission Foundation and Greenway Global Company.
