The forest is an amazing system that supports the lives of many species of plants and animals and is a valuable source of many human resources.
Forest is a powerful force but at the same time a fragile system, each component of which is interconnected. Breaking this connection can lead to forest degradation, the extinction of certain species. How is everything interconnected in nature? We looked for the answer to this question with the children during the educational excursion program in Synevyrska Polyana, Khust region. Young participants learned about the peculiarities of the forests of this region, which is part of the Synevyr National Nature Park. There was talk of wildlife, including many rare species in need of protection. They are one of those fragile components of the forest. We not only talked about the relationship of the components of nature but also used the exercise “Spider Web”. Each participant played the role of a certain component of nature. Standing in a circle, the children threw a ball of thread to each other, which connected them all. The web was formed. But then, as a team, some participants let go of the thread, which led to the destruction of the web.
Thanks to this exercise, children easily learned that the integrity of connections is broken as a result of the loss of one or more components from the ecological system. Yes, if insects disappear, some birds will disappear, if there is not enough greenery, it’ll be deadly to herbivores, if you cut down all the trees in a large area, many species will be left homeless, which for them is a forest.
The activity was coordinated by Maria Babichyn with the migrant children from Dnipro region and local schoolchildren.
The event was held in cooperation with the Interreligious and Environmental Civil Forum of Eastern Europe (IRCEF, led by Alexander Bokotey) with the support of the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU Bundesverband, NABU International), project coordinator Ivan Tymofeiev.
Informational Service of IRCEF