At the end of February, the Department of Agronomy, Biology and Ecology of Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy, in cooperation with the NGO “Ecosocium” and with the support of the Polish Fundacja Dziedzictwa Przyrodniczego, conducted a seminar-training for biology teachers titled “Protected areas as a tool for biodiversity conservation”.

The conference hall of BKNUC gathered ecologists and educators who are concerned with nature protection issues and strive to involve as many school and university youth as possible in this cause and to promote environmental initiatives within the communities of the Cherkasy region.

The Vice-Rector for Scientific, Innovation and International Activities, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor Oleksandr Spriahailo and the Head of the Department of Agronomy, Biology and Ecology, Chairman of the NGO “Ecosocium” Oleksandr Iliukha addressed the participants with welcoming words. After the opening remarks, the active work began. Together, the participants discussed what knowledge and actions are necessary for biodiversity conservation, reviewed an algorithm of actions for creating protected areas in communities, practiced filling in and using databases on biological diversity, and analysed how to make student ecological projects and scientific research works within the Junior Academy of Sciences one of the tools for preserving local biodiversity.

The seminar-training became both a platform for communication among socially active like-minded individuals concerned with nature conservation issues and one of the professional development events for biology teachers in the Cherkasy region.

The project is co-financed by the Education for Democracy Foundation within the framework of the RITA – Region in Transition program, funded by the Polish-American Freedom Foundation.

The Educational-Scientific Institute of Natural and Agrarian Sciences