Responsibility for God’s land means that people are endowed with a mindset that must respect the laws of nature and take into account the delicate balance that exists between creatures on Earth, ” For he commanded and they were created. 6 And he established them forever and ever. He gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.” (Ps 148,5b-6). (Encyclical of Pope Francis, p. 53)
They enrich the air with oxygen, prevent floods and droughts, and protect the soil from erosion, and life is impossible without them – all this is about forests. These unique ecological systems play a significant role for humans in the modern world and are the habitat of many species of plants and animals. Forests, their role on the planet, and the importance of protection and conservation were discussed during an ecological and educational event, which was held with the youth of the Christian camp in the Synevyr National Nature Park (Khust district, July 28, 2022).
During the lesson, the children learned a lot of interesting and useful information about the Carpathian forests and their inhabitants, including rare ones. Particular attention was paid to the protection and preservation of the brown bear. The number of these species has significantly decreased in recent decades. Despite the fact that this animal is the largest predator of the Carpathians, it is in a tough situation due to various factors, in particular the destruction of the habitat of the species. During the event, children had the opportunity to observe a rare black stork. It flew right over them like a living visual instrument.
It was also about the value of forests, and there are a lot of them. All of them can be divided into tangible and intangible. The children willingly shared their impressions of the Carpathian forest, with which they had the opportunity to communicate for almost a week. The program is built in such a way that children are active participants and at a certain stage, they exchange knowledge about the forest through interactive exercises. At the end of the event, each participant received a trophy cone made of mountain pine, which will remind us of this ecological and educational meeting in the Synevyr forest. The organizers also presented an interesting publication about nature “Under the owl’s wing”.
The event was held within the framework of the project “Churches, religious and public organizations for the environmental of national minorities”, implemented by the Interreligious and Environmental Civil Forum of Eastern Europe (IRCEF) (head by Alexander Bokotey) in cooperation with the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU Bundesverband NABU International ) under with the support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Auswärtiges Amt) project coordinators Ivan Tymofeiev (NABU), Nataliya Kulya (IRCEF).
Informational Service of IRCEF
