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The Year of Ecology in the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov

The Russian President has signed a Decree of 05.01.2016, No 7, declaring 2017 to be the Year of Ecology of Russia. The Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov has developed a series of environmental activities and events dedicated to the theme of ecology.

The protected natural landscape area of the Museum-Reserve is nearly 40000 ha. It covers the territory of outstanding natural beauty, aesthetic and recreational value.

Being an enthusiastic hunter and fisher Mikhail Sholokhov was very careful to nature. He took care of the protection of forests and water-bodies, preservation of the Don fauna and its enrichment with new species. He assisted in constructing ponds and stocking them with fish, in establishing a protective zone of the Don banks, in founding the Don Research Forestry Station, where pine seedlings were grown for strengthening sands, and the Vyoshensky forestry and hunting area for breeding elks, deer, roe deer, wild boars, squirrels, muskrats, raccoons, beavers, pheasants and other animals in the Don woods. Sholokhov stood over all the problems of the state of the Upper Don natural resources.

For long years the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov has been carrying out various ecological and environmental activities. The Year of Ecology of Russia will expand the circle of their participants and attract attention of the wide public to the Museum activity.

The excursion and exhibition centre “People’s House” will show an exhibition “Mikhail Sholokhov is a Glorifier of the Don Nature” from the collection of the Museum-Reserve. The exhibits will tell about the writer as a master of landscape depiction, his contribution into conservation of natural resources of Russia, his passion for hunting and fishing.

A special attention will be paid to environmental education. Spring and autumn environmental weeks will be held for schoolchildren of the Rostov Region and the neighbouring areas to take part in meetings, conferences, events, rallies and quizzes. The spring environmental week will include a Day of Environmental Education, the V International Children and Youth Conference “Sholokhov Geography: from the Origins to the Nobel Triumph”, a qualifying round of the relay-quiz “Forest Tier” in Novocherkassk, an Arbor Day, participation in the All-

Russian environmental subbotnik “Green Spring”, a greening campaign “Sholokhov Lilac on the Map of Eurasia”, a competition “Ecoorienteering”.

The autumn environmental week includes a final round of the relay-quiz “Forest Tier”, competitions “Forestry Decathlon” and “Save Nature”, a greening campaign in the forest park “Pearl of Eurasia”, interactive classes “Her Majesty Nature”.

In July, the XVIII International Rally of the Children and Youth movement “Sholokhov Source” will be held to bring together schoolchildren from Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Byelorussia for the study and spreading the creative heritage of M.A.Sholokhov, the Don country nature and the Don Cossack traditions. The children will stay in a camp on the bank of the River Don, will take environmental itineraries, and will take part in ecological orienteering, sport and tourist exercises, literary, toponymic and local history competitions.

The environmental educational programs and special courses within the “Museum Environmental School” will go on: “Sightseeing about Sholokhov’s Reserved Places”, “Environmental Calendar” and “Visiting Ecoznaika”. The Museum projects on environmental education will be published in the book of collected teaching materials.

The tours about the eco-tourist routs will be organized all the year round.

The ecological and environmental activities realized by the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov make a significant contribution into education of young people, environment protection and improvement of the environmental situation, which are extremely important for our country.

Yevgeniya Gudzenko