The School of the Young Conservationist has successfully concluded.
These are challenging times for Ukraine’s environment, making it critically important to engage new, motivated individuals in the conservation movement and to continuously enhance essential skills.
Over five intensive days in the field, participants engaged in a blend of academic learning and practical conservation work:
- We shared stories of successes and failures within the environmental field.
- We debated controversial topics, such as the afforestation of natural steppes and meadows.
- We learned how to communicate effectively and professionally through social media and traditional media.
- We searched for species listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine (nationally protected species) within forests to save their habitats from logging activities.
- We practiced identifying habitats protected under the Bern Convention (Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats).
- We planned strategies to halt both current and potential environmental problems.
- We also gained essential field experience: preparing our own food, dealing with mosquitoes, pushing through thick nettles and fallen timber (burelom), enduring sun exposure, and swimming in the Dnipro Reservoir.
All biodiversity observations gathered during the school have already been uploaded to the iNaturalist platform, and we are integrating this data into our ongoing work to preserve local forests.
The school was held in the Cherkasy region (Central Ukraine) in partnership with the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Cherkasy National University, the NGO “Ekosotsium,” and the “Kholodnyi Yar” National Nature Park.
