Today, the Berezinsky Reserve is celebrating another anniversary − one of the oldest specially protected natural areas in Belarus and Europe turns 98 years old. On January 30, in 1925, the Council of Nation's Commissars of the BSSR, in order to protect and breed valuable wild animals, especially river beavers, issued a decree "On the establishment of a state hunting reserve in the Borisov District" − the Berezinsky Reserve. On its territory, hunting, fishing, deforestation and rafting were banned, and serious scientific research of flora and fauna began. The development of the reserve was hindered by the World War II, which brought huge losses to the reserve: archives and collections of great scientific importance, the museum and other buildings, the beaver farm and elk nursery were destroyed, virgin forests were cut down. However, the reserve, like its centuries-old nature, withstood and survived. Years later, the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve became well known not only in our country, but also as a European nature protection complex.
Today, to celebrate the 98th anniversary of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve, an event dedicated to this significant date was held for elementary school students of the local Domzheritsy basic school.
Children learned about the reserve, its history and how the nature protection institution works and functions.
Also during the event, tourism specialist Maria Stankevich showed the children a cartoon about nature, talked about how to save it for future generations, held thematic games, quizzes and competitions.
The children were divided into several teams and actively participated in creative tasks.
And at the end of the event, everyone left their congratulations to their dear reserve in the form of a drawing with wishes.
For the birthday of the reserve, pupils of the middle and senior groups of the Domzheritsy kindergarten also prepared a gift − a series of drawings about the wildlife of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve.
These children's pictures, drawn by young residents of the protected area aged 4 to 6, will be included in the book of poems and drawings, which they’ll create by hand together with their teacher and creative inspirer, Valentina Avtushko.
And the Domzheritsy library did not stand aside − the event "Specially Protected Territories of Belarus" was held here, the participants of which were also students of the local school. It consisted of two parts: educational and game.
At first, the children learned what territories belong to specially protected nature areas, what categories and types of protected nature areas exist, how many of these exist in our republic, for what purposes and according to what criteria they are allocated. And, most importantly, they got acquainted with the restrictions on such territories. They also discussed the main threats that have a negative impact on the biological diversity of flora and fauna in Belarus. Then there was a virtual tour to the protected areas of Belarus, with the help of an interactive map, we examined what kind of protected areas are on the territory of the Lepel district.
During the game part of the event, the children answered the questions of an ecological quiz, completed tasks on cards, depicted animals using gestures and facial expressions, and "collected" edible mushrooms hidden in the library.
At the end of the event, they discussed the importance of creating protected areas and concluded that the disappearing of even a few species of plants and animals entails the loss of the integrity of the biosphere and its ability to maintain life-important qualities of the environment. Librarian Tatyana Smolyanaya also designed an exhibition for the event.
Attention! In the official social nets of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve, the action "Congratulate the Reserve" starts today, anyone can take part. You just need to make an original congratulation to Berezinsky on your page in any form. The one whose post will collect the most “likes” will receive a certificate for two for 2 days of the festival "Way of Tsmok − 2023" as a gift. The promotion will last for two weeks, hurry up to join!
