NEWS

For schoolchildren of the 4th grade of the Secondary School No.4, Agryz town, a walk in the woods turned out to be a real holiday. The nature tour was arranged by the experts of Agryzskoye Forestry. The tour was conducted by the Deputy Head Forester V.L. Ishmuratov and the District Forester of Agryzskoye District Forestry A.T.Shaykhetdinov. “To love nature is not only to admire its beauties, but also treat it carefully and creatively,” said forest workers in their conversation with students. The foresters told the children about the importance of the forest, the rules of behavior and care for green spaces.

The bird feeders and birdhouses made in advance by schoolchildren together with their parents have been successfully placed on the forest walkway. The children were pleased not only by the cheerful singing of birds, but also by the pleasant cares of them.

On this day, children learned a lot of interesting about forest, hibernating birds, and the animal world. At the end of the event the schoolchildren received sweet treats.

Aeration of water bodies is a process of water saturation with air, in other words, with oxygen. It is important and necessary for the life of all inhabitants of the reservoir, including aquatic plants. Aeration has a beneficial effect on fish and their activity, contributes to the establishment of the necessary ecological balance in the water basin.

All fish breathe oxygen dissolved in the water, so its content is crucial for them. It is much harder for water animals to breathe, and not only because there are 21 times less oxygen in the water, but also because water density is 800 times greater than air density. Oxygen is necessary for fish to ensure aerobic energy exchange in individual development, and they can do without it for the shortest time only in early stages.

The lack of the oxygen dissolved in the water can lead to the death of fish and the development of various diseases. In winter, aeration works clean water from harmful gases that accumulate under the ice cover and have a serious negative effect on the oxygen conditions in the reservoir. There are different threshold concentrations of oxygen in water for different species of fish. The optimal amount of oxygen dissolved in water is about 12-13 mg/l in winter and 6-8 mg/l in summer.

To combat the extermination and within the Year of Specially Protected Natural Reservations of the Republic of Tatarstan the experts of Spassky Nature Sanctuary together with the Leading Ichthyologist of Middle Volga branch of Glavrybvod Rustam Safiulin, on the lakes of the nature monuments “Chistoye”, “Bezymyannoe”, “Atamanskoye” located in Tri Ozera Village of Spassky Municipal District, took melioration measures to rescue fish from oxygen starvation. Using a gasoline ice pick, more than 90 holes have been drilled through the thick ice layer on the lakes to place the straw in order to prevent freezing and provide access to oxygen, which will help save the lives of many underwater inhabitants of the lakes.

In order to improve the quality of measures taken to use, protect, conserve and regenerate forests, an alignment meeting is held on the territory of Bugulminskoye Forestry. The First Deputy Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Tatarstan E.N. Bedertdinov, the heads of the structural subdivisions of the Ministry, the district foresters, the engineers, the deputy head foresters of Almetyevskoye Forestry, Bugulminskoye Forestry, Leninogorskoye Forestry, Aznakaevskoye Forestry, Bavlinskoye Forestry, Zainskoye Forestry, Kaleykinskoye Forestry, Menzelinskoye Forestry; representatives of Roslesinforg took part in the event.

Year after year, more and more good deeds are under the school forestry unit’s belt. The young foresters of Arskoye school forestry unit “Heirs of nature” skillfully and carefully manage the gifts of nature. Traditionally, in March, the Council pf the school forestry unit holds the campaign “Green Pharmacy”. In 2016, the members of the school forestry unit collected 11 kg of birch buds and 17 kg of pine buds. While harvesting the medicinal raw materials, the children not only learn to love and protect forests, but also to use in life the skills and experience of joint collective work.

On March 20, a seminar on “Topical issues of organization and carrying out of geodetic, mine surveying, land management works and creation of a modern geodetic infrastructure of oil and gas fields” was held at the Center for Continuing Education, Quality Management and Marketing of the Institute of Geology and Oil and Gas Technologies of Kazan Federal University. The Head of the Lease Relations Department Akhmadullin F.F. made a report “On topical issues of the operation of oil and gas fields, mine surveying and geodetic works on parcels of forested area”.

Under this title, a lesson was held in the daycare center “Kolosok” of the Spassky municipal district of the Republic of Tatarstan within the framework of the International Day of Forests and the Year of Specially Protected Natural Reservations. With the help of toys and pictures children told about wild and domestic animals, their habitat, about trees, birds, and careful attitude towards nature. During the lesson the expert of Spassky Nature Sanctuary Lyubov Murzak told the children about the benefits of the forest: “Forests soften the climate, regulate the flow of water in rivers, protect the soil from destruction by water and wind, are sources of wood, valuable medicinal plants, food, have a favorable effect on human health, so the role of the forest can hardly be overestimated. Nature is a great and wise teacher. Unfortunately, many are indifferent to the beauty and harmony of nature. Perhaps, because, they do not know how poor life would be without the abundance of animals and plants, how they are needed, useful, just necessary. Our task is to love and protect nature”.

At the end of the event, the children were given books: “The Birds of Our Forests”, “The Amazing World of Butterflies”, “The Trees and Shrubs around Us”, “Ecology for Toddlers”.

For the first time this holiday sounded as an official call for the protection of forests in 1971. At the 23rd congress of the UN General Assembly on the initiative of the European Agriculture Confederation and with support of other agricultural organizations, it was decided to sign a decree on the International Day of Forests. It is no coincidence that the date of the holiday was settled on March 21. It is on this day in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth the vernal equinox and in the Southern Hemisphere the autumnal equinox comes.

International Day of Forests is celebrated in many countries of the world in order to draw attention to the importance of forests to ensure the well-being of the world's ecology, sustainable development of our planet and human life. The purpose and objectives of the holiday is to inform the public about the importance of forests in the life of the entire population of the planet, maintaining them pristine, protection methods, tending of green areas and their rational use as raw material.

Within the framework of the International Day of Forests, the forestry workers of the Republic of Tatarstan annually conduct various kinds of activities in educational institutions bringing attention of the younger generation to the need to protect forests and reforest.

The Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Tatarstan congratulates everyone on the International Day of Forests! We wish each of us to take care of the preservation and well-being of the green wealth of our planet, because the forest gives us a lot of vivid impressions, delicious berries, fruits and happy walks. And let there never be fires and drought. Congratulations!

Within the framework of the Year of Ecology and Specially Protected Natural Reservations in the Kazan school of the Education Center No.178 the forestry workers gave an open “Forest Lesson” coincided with the International Day of Forests. The purpose of the event is to cultivate careful attitude to natural wealth, interest in cognition of nature.

The lesson was conducted as the real-life communication in which the pupils of 6 D grade took part. At the beginning of the lesson, the children were shown a film about the forestry of the republic, then the head forester of Prigorodnoye Forestry Ilnur Kashafeev talked to the children about the forest and its significance in human life. He also turned attention to the topical issue of coming spring and summer “Protection of forests from fires”: “Beautiful forests adorn the territory of our region. Forest is the source of life, the priceless storehouse of nature. But it has a treacherous enemy from which it is defenseless – this is fire. In most cases, the cause of forest fires is a person who neglects fire safety rules in the forest. In order to prevent a fire in the natural environment, it is forbidden to throw burning matches, smoldering rags in the forest, to build a fire in dense thickets, to leave in the woods glassware that in clear weather can focus the sunbeam and ignite the dry vegetation, and also to burn dry grass in forest glades, under the trees, set fire to the reeds,” Ilnur Kashafeev noted in his speech.

The schoolchildren listened to the specialists attentively and asked questions. The Red Book which was given to the school by the Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Tatarstan Almas Nazirov arouse much interest among children.

At the end of the “Forest Lesson” the pupils were given books “Forest Watch”, and the most active participants of the event were given memorable gifts.

The First Deputy Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Tatarstan E.N. Bedertdinov, the Deputy Director for Science of the Institute of Problems of Ecology and Subsurface Use of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan D.V. Ivanov; Director of Volga-Kama State Biosphere Nature Reserve Yu.A. Gorshkov; Chairperson of the Department of General Ecology of the Institute of Ecology and Nature Management of Kazan Federal University T.V. Rogova took part in the event. Also, the experts of the Ministry, teachers and students of higher educational institutions, students of school forestry units attended the presentation.

In his speech Emir Bedertdinov noted: “For 10 years information on the status and dispersal of rare species of wild animals, plants and fungi inhabiting the territory of our region was collected; the regulatory framework concerning the keeping of the Red Book of Tatarstan continuously improved”. He also thanked all the specialists, scientists who worked on the third edition of the Red Book of the Republic of Tatarstan: “The Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Tatarstan at all times pursued the closest cooperation with the representatives of science and universities. As a rule, this cooperation bears fruits enriching our society and economy with new achievements and discoveries that allow Tatarstan to keep leading positions in many areas. The third edition of the Red Book of the Republic of Tatarstan is also a confirmation of joint efforts of the Ministry of Forestry and the best representatives of Tatarstan biological science”. He also noted that the unconditional dignity of the Red Book is the fact of the succession of scientific schools, the permanence of the basic composition of the authors’ team who know their business well and convey knowledge and experience to young specialists.

The Red Book is an official document containing a corpus of information about the objects of flora and fauna, as well as the necessary measures for their protection and restoration.

As of today, the list of rare species includes 224 species of vertebrates and invertebrates, 340 plant species, 24 lichen species and 49 species of fungi (612 species in total).

Due to the decrease in population over the 10-year period, about 70 new species of animals, plants and fungi were included into the Red Book. Also, more than 10 species first found on the territory of the republic have been listed in the Red Book.

At the same time, the long-term stringent protection measures have contributed to the fact that in recent years the representatives of some species of flora and fauna listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Tatarstan have increased in population to a safe to maintain and further increase in populations. Therefore, thanks to the stabilization or increase in population, discovery of new populations about 140 species of animals, plants and fungi have been withdrawn from the Red Book.

The experts of Baltasinsky Nature Sanctuary gave a quiz lesson in Karaduganskaya Gymnasium, Baltasinsky Municipal District. 35 pupils of 7 and 8 grades took part in the lesson. During the quiz, the children were introduced to the sanctuary activities, World Water Day. Upon completion of the event, the schoolchildren received gifts and diplomas from the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Tatarstan.