Russian Geographical Society announces the launch of a competition for participation in environmental and educational camps in more than ten regions of Russia. Volunteers will help employees of specially protected natural areas in the improvement of national parks and reserves, as well as get acquainted with the historical, natural and cultural heritage of the areas during excursions and hikes.
Shifts in environmental and educational camps will take place on the territory of 17 reserves and national parks:
1. The RGS camp in the "Darvinsky" reserve will work from May 27 to June 9. The reserve is located in the Cherepovets district of the Vologda Region. It has been included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2002. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
2. The "Kaluzhskiye Zaseki" Nature Reserve in the Kaluga Region will receive volunteers in two shifts: from May 21 to May 23 and from August 13 to August 15. The protected area is located on the border of the Orel and Tula regions. Bisons, rare Falconiformes such as white-tailed eagles, peregrine falcons and golden eagles, as well as the black Apollo butterfly, listed in the Red Book, inhabit there. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
3. Volunteers will have an opportunity to visit the "Valday" National Park from May 27 to May 31. The park is located in the Novgorod Region and it is one of the largest specially protected natural areas in the European part of Russia. The national park was accepted into the Federation of Natural National Parks of Europe in 1994, and it was granted the high status of an international biosphere reserve in the framework of the UNESCO program “Man and the Biosphere” in 2004. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
4. The RGS camp will be opened in the "Chernye Zemli" reserve in the Republic of Kalmykia from June 1 to June 14. One of the main tasks of the protected area is the preservation and study of the Kalmyk population of saiga and rare species of waterfowl and semiaquatic birds. The "Cherniye Zemli" reserve received the official biosphere status of UNESCO in 1993. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
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5. As many as three shifts will be organized in the "Ugra" National Park in the Kaluga Region: from June 3 to June 9, from June 24 to June 30, and from July 15 to July 21. Tourists come here to enjoy the picturesque valleys of numerous rivers. The park also contains the key ornithological territories of word rank "Dolina Zhizdry" and "Tishskaya Dal" and of regional importance "Galkkinskoye Boloto" and "Zalidovskiye Luga". Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
6. Volunteers have an opportunity to visit the "Smolenskoye Poozerie" National Park in the Smolensk Region from June 3 to June 17. Animals such as elk, wild boar, bear, wolf, fox, lynx, hare, beaver and ermine live there. The "Smolenskoye Poozerie" National Park is also called the bird kingdom - the park has entered the International Network of Key Ornithological Areas (CATF) since 1999. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
7. Volunteers are invited in the "Alania" National Park, which is located in the Republic of North Ossetia, from July 1 to July 15. You can get there only along the road in the valley of the Urukh river, through the unique Ahsint canyon. There are 34 species of mammals in the park, including the East Caucasian tur and chamois, that has the status of a Caucasian subspecies. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
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8. The RGS camp in the Barguzinsky Reserve and Zabaikalsky National Park starts on July 15 and ends on July 30. Specially protected natural territories are located in the Republic of Buryatia. Barguzinsky Reserve is one of the oldest reserves in Russia and it was created to preserve and increase the number of sable.
There are more than 10 thousand hectares of especially valuable plant complexes in the Zabaikalsky National Park. There are pine, cedar and fir forests at the age of 200 years and older. There are 19 species of the birds registered in the park recorded in the Red Book of Russia - white-tailed eagle, osprey, eagle owl, black stork, black crane and other species. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
9. We invite volunteers to the "Kurshskaya Kosa" National Park from July 17 to July 23. It is located in the Kaliningrad Region in the border with Lithuania on a narrow strip of land between the salted Baltic Sea and the freshwater Curonian Lagoon that is the largest sandstone in the world. Currently, the territory of the Curonian Spit is officially protected by the Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of UNESCO. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
10. The RGS shift will be held in the "Kerzhenskiy" reserve from August 5 to August 18. The first and so far the only nature reserve in the region is part of wetlands of international importance - the Kamsko-Bakaldinskaya group of wetlands. It is the largest marsh area in the center of European Russia and the key ornithological area of world importance. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
11. Volunteers will be able to visit the "Katunsky" reserve in the Altai Republic from August 5 to August 18. The reserve is located in the highlands of Central Altai. Its territory is listed in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List as the Golden Mountains of Altai. Applications for participation are accepted until April 20.
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12. The RGS environmental and educational camp will take place in Moscow as well. Shifts will be in the "Losiny Ostrov" National Park from May 13 to May 19, from July 15 to July 21, from October 14 to October 20. The "Losiny Ostrov" National Park is the only wildlife reserve in the world, which is located within the boundaries of the largest urban agglomeration. There is the Elk Biological Station, where you have an opportunity to meet elks. Applications for participation are accepted until April 10.
More information can be found in the Competition Regulations:
- Regulations for 1-11 environmental and educational camps of the RGS from the list above
- Regulations for shifts in the "Losiny Ostrov" National Park
You can fill out an application for participation here.
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The project is implemented with the benefit of the grant from the President of the Russian Federation for the development of civil society provided by the Presidential Grants Foundation.