The participation of BKNUC students and faculty in the conservation campaign to protect the pleated snowdrop in Kholodnyi Yar has become a good tradition.

Representatives of the Educational-Scientific Institute of Natural and Agrarian Sciences first joined the “Pervotsvit” campaign in 2002 and have been coming to Kholodnyi Yar every spring since then. Starting in 2022, the campaign has been held under the auspices of the “Kholodnyi Yar” National Nature Park.

Students and lecturers assist the park staff in ensuring compliance with environmental legislation at the main locations where the pleated snowdrop grows. They conduct awareness-raising activities and help to prevent trampling, picking, and digging up these rare plants.

A distinctive feature of this year’s “Pervotsvit” campaign at the “Kholodnyi Yar” National Nature Park was the participation of students from seven educational institutions across Ukraine, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG) and other organisations. The stay in the park included a rich programme – in addition to protecting snowdrops, lecturers of the Educational-Scientific Institute of Natural and Agrarian Sciences (Maksym Havryliuk, Kateryna Lavrinenko, and Oleksandr Iliukha) conducted outdoor classes for students, explaining the specific features of the life cycles of ephemeroids. In order to support the national park, observations of phenological phenomena in the flora and fauna, along with ornithological research, were carried out, and the population of the pleated snowdrop was monitored. Under the guidance of Petro Tiestov (UNCG), students practised using GIS technologies in nature conservation activities. Serhii Hlotov (State Museum of Natural History) presented and demonstrated various methods for studying invertebrates. Guided tours of nature and the history of Kholodnyi Yar were led by the Director of the national park, Bohdan Lehoniak, and the Deputy Director for Scientific Work, Serhii Panchenko.

“The “Pervotsvit” campaign is supported by the “Kholodnyi Yar” National Nature Park, the rectorate and trade union committee of Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy, the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, and the NGO “Ekosotsium”. We believe that through joint efforts we will preserve the unique population of the pleated snowdrop in Kholodnyi Yar!” emphasised Maksym Havryliuk, Director of the Educational-Scientific Institute of Natural and Agrarian Sciences.

The Educational-Scientific Institute of Natural and Agrarian Sciences