"Let's Return the Bison to Our Nature!" 2021 ecological summer camp successfully concluded
On 21–23 July, an environmental summer camp titled "Let's Return the Bison to Our Nature!" was held within the youth education and development direction of the "Bison Reintroduction in Azerbaijan" program, launched on the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of the IDEA Public Union. The camp, organized by the IDEA Public Union, the Youth Foundation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijan office of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with the support of the Gabala District Executive Authority, brought together nearly 60 schoolchildren from the Gabala district.
The main purpose of the "Let's Return the Bison to Our Nature!" summer camp is to inform young people about the reintroduced bison and the importance of their conservation, to raise environmental awareness among school-aged children, and to foster a sense of care and appreciation for nature.
On the first day of the camp, schoolchildren attended presentations on the lifestyle of bison, their history of habitation in our country, the areas where they once lived, their role in nature, and the efforts carried out to return this rare species to our environment. They also took part in trainings on the factors leading to the decline of the bison population, as well as various ecological competitions and entertaining biodiversity-themed quizzes.
On the second day, an excursion to Shahdag National Park was organized for the participants. Here, the schoolchildren learned about the rich biological diversity of the National Park and had the opportunity to observe the bison brought to Azerbaijan within the reintroduction program. They were provided with information about the bison that had successfully adapted after being brought to our country, as well as the stages and achievements of the project. On the final day of the camp, an info-tour to Lake Nohur was held, where inter-team ecological games were conducted, exercises on identifying animal species by their footprints were organized, and instructions were given on building proper shelters and ensuring safety in natural areas. At the end, participants received certificates and commemorative gifts.
It should be noted that within the program on the reintroduction of Caucasian bison into Azerbaijan’s nature, the IDEA Public Union, together with its project partners — the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the Azerbaijan Office of WWF — carries out extensive conservation and educational activities. As part of the project, 12 bison were brought from Europe to the Ismayilli section of Shahdag National Park in May 2019, and an additional 5 bison were brought in 2020 and released into the wild. The observed natural growth among the bison brought to our country indicates that they have successfully completed their adaptation period. Currently, the number of bison brought to our country has reached 19. Considering the success of the project, the introduction of new individuals will continue.
Since 2014, environmental and biodiversity-themed camps have been organized annually at the initiative of the IDEA Public Union. During this period, more than 500 schoolchildren from the Ismayilli, Salyan, Neftchala, Gabala, Goranboy, Samukh, Gakh, Shaki, Masalli, Jalilabad, Yardimli, Lankaran, Astara, Goygol, and Lerik districts have participated in these camps.
