An engaging and interactive environmental lesson about bats took place at Rativtsi Gymnasium, led by the school’s teacher and IRCEF volunteer, Krystyna Solanska. The primary school students immersed themselves in learning about the unique characteristics of bats, their diverse species, and various habitats. The children eagerly shared their personal encounters with these fascinating creatures, often seeing them near churches on summer nights.
During the lesson, students were exposed to an educational video on bats, followed by a brief reading of Natalia Humen-Bilanych’s ecological fairy tale “The Bats” in both Hungarian and Ukrainian. The learning experience was enriched with interactive tasks from Olha Velychkanych‘s workbook “Secrets of Church Towers.” Students delved into intriguing bat facts, engaged in coloring nocturnal animals, and even conducted a hands-on activity of searching for and counting bats.
Ms. Solanska constantly emphasized the importance of protecting bats, highlighting the alarming decline in their population in Ukraine over the past few decades. She explained the devastating impacts of pesticides and habitat destruction on bats, underscoring the crucial role these nocturnal animals play in maintaining ecological balance. A single colony of bats can astonishingly consume up to 130 kilograms of harmful insects in a day, effectively controlling agricultural pests and benefiting the environment in countless ways.
The event was held with the participation of children of the Roma national minority in the framework of cooperation between the Interreligious and Civil Environmental Forum of Eastern Europe (IRCEF) headed by Olexander Bokotey) and the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU Bundesverband, NABU International), project coordinators Ivan Tymofeiev (NABU), and Nataliya Kulya (IRCEF).
Informational Service of IRCEF