In the new academic year, ecological and educational events designed for different audiences have been launched in nature reserves and national parks. In the year of the teacher and mentor, employees of specially protected natural areas present educational novelties for schoolchildren, students, teachers and even entrepreneurs.

An interregional training conference "Methodological and organizational approaches to environmental education of children and adults" was held on the basis of the central estate of the national Park "Land of the Leopard" in Primorsky Krai. The event brought together more than 30 specialists of educational and educational organizations, protected areas, non-profit organizations of the Far East, Siberia and the Caucasus. The staff of the "Land of the Leopard" told the guests about the peculiarities of the flora and fauna of the south of Primorye and the research carried out in the national Park, including photomonitoring.

"We are extremely glad that this kind of event took place on our site. This is a great opportunity for us to introduce people who are passionate about ecology to our unique nature. We also appreciate the opportunity to involve our employees in this work. We think that the knowledge and experience gained will greatly help our colleagues in their work. We are open for cooperation in this direction," said Maria Okulova, Deputy Director of the Land of the Leopard National Park for Environmental Education and International Cooperation.

The All-Russian Society "Znanie" and the specialists of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Reserved Baikal Region" in the Irkutsk region, which manages the Baikal National Park, the Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve, the Tofalarsky and Krasny Yar nature reserves, have started working together on environmental education for children and adults: now the participants of the lectures of the society have access to face-to-face educational meetings with professionals of the reserved business and lectures on specific topics, as well as free access to an interactive exhibition dedicated to Lake Baikal. The first meeting within the framework of cooperation took place in Irkutsk: high school students of Gymnasium No. 25 came to the directorate of the environmental institution. A tour of the museum's interactive exposition was organized for the children, viewing a large-format video about the times of day and year on Lake Baikal, communication in the "question-answer" format with the staff of the protected areas.

One of the employees of the "Reserved Baikal Region" – a leading methodologist on environmental education Svyatoslav Pantyukhov is already a lecturer at the Irkutsk regional organization of the society "Knowledge" of Russia.

"My parents and the older generation of our country warmly recall the visits of representatives of the society "Knowledge", when lecturers together with outstanding personalities came to meet with the population even in the most remote villages on BAM and told, for example, about space or the achievements of science and medicine. Now such a format of education is in demand again, and I like to be one of those who share knowledge and can answer a lot of questions on a topic that has become a part of my life," said Svyatoslav Pantyukhov.

Employees of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Reserved Baikal Region" took part in a seminar on topical issues of the Baikal natural territory, which was held as part of the first All-Russian Olympiad in Baikal Studies. Almost 200 schoolchildren and their adult mentors from different regions took part in the project, which took place in the Republic of Buryatia on the basis of the Baikal Waves camp. Only those who passed the first stage and demonstrated the necessary level of knowledge about the oldest and deepest lake on the planet could get to the Olympics.

"I talked about the experience of holding the Baikal Studies Olympiad for students on the basis of our protected areas – in April this year it was held for the 10th time. I think that my achievements will be useful to colleagues, because you can explore Baikal, discover it for yourself continuously, at any age. I am glad that today the guys came here not only from the Irkutsk region and Buryatia, but also from Orenburg, Blagoveshchensk, Chita and other cities of the country," said Svetlana Kozlova, head of the Environmental Education Department of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Reserved Baikal Region".

A seminar for biology and geography teachers was held in the visit center of the Komsomolsk Nature Reserve in the Khabarovsk Territory with the participation of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Information and Methodological Center. The staff of the reserve presented to the teachers their new methodological developments in local history, including novelties – educational and game programs "Amur Fish", "Marine mammals of the Khabarovsk Territory", "Respect nature". Each participant of the seminar received as a gift multimedia materials developed by the staff of the protected areas, thematic posters "Salmon of the Khabarovsk Territory" and board games for classes.

"We can use all the materials both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities as ready-made developments. A deep scientific study of the material, which we trust, is very valuable for teachers," Irina Subbotina-Vasilyeva, a biology and geography teacher at the MOE SOSH 51, shared her impressions.

Employees of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve in the Kamchatka Territory and the school of conservationists, together with teachers, continue to introduce an educational program in the schools of the region dedicated to the protected nature and its conservation. The implementation of the project on the introduction of the new course began last year and, as planned, will take 3-4 years.

In the new academic year, most of the schools of Petropavlovsk–Kamchatsky, as well as other localities, will implement the lessons of the course "My Kamchatka is a protected region". Educational institutions of Yelizov, Pionerskiy, Ust-Kamchatsk and other localities are already interested in conducting lessons. Experts of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve welcome this – the more students take lessons at the testing stage, the better the final course will turn out.

"There are four sections in the course: "Kamchatka. Reserved land", "Human behavior in nature. Relationship with nature", "Kamchatka biodiversity, flora and fauna" and "Eco-friendly lifestyle". Last year, lessons were held in five schools for second graders. This academic year, the course will take place in the third, fifth and sixth grades. Later we will cover the fourth, seventh and eighth grades. The course is very important for schoolchildren of different ages: it is impossible to love the nature of the region without knowing it. Schoolchildren are the generation on which the well-being of nature depends in twenty to thirty years, and we need them to know and take care of our region. Ultimately, we want these children to become environmentally conscious, patriotic, loving nature and their homeland as adult citizens," explained Tatiana Gulbina, Deputy Director for Environmental Education and Public Relations of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve.

Employees of the Katunsky Reserve in the Altai Republic took part in the tourist gathering of students of the region and the festival of children's tourist associations "Walking the paths of Altai". The event was held in order to create conditions for the involvement of children and teachers of the Altai Republic in active tourism and local history activities, taking into account the cultural traditions of the peoples of the region. At the site of the reserve, the children got acquainted with the history of the nature reserve business of Russia, the categories of specially protected natural territories and the activities of the institution. For young athletes, there were also exciting venues from the Saylugem National Park and the Youth Club of the RGO "Save Altai"
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Author: Press Service of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia

Опубликовано: 13 October 2023