“Let’s Bring Bison Back to Our Nature!” ecological summer camp was successfully concluded

On July 4–6, within the framework of the “Reintroduction of Zubr in Azerbaijan” program, the next ecological summer camp titled “Let’s Bring Zubr Back to Our Nature!” was held, 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 Representative Office of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with the support of the Ismayilli District Executive Authority. Nearly 60 schoolchildren from the Talıstan, Tircan, Keyvəndi, Cülyan, Topçu and other villages of the Ismayilli district took part in the camp.

The main purpose of the “Let’s Bring Zubr Back to Our Nature!” summer camp is to inform young people about the zubr planned to be returned to our nature and the importance of their protection, to raise environmental awareness from school age, and to form a sense of care and appreciation for nature.

On the first day of the camp, participants received extensive information about the lifestyle of zubr, the areas where they will be reintroduced, and their role in nature, and took part in seminars on the reintroduction project implemented to return this rare species to our rich nature, as well as in various ecological research activities and competitions.

On the second day of the camp, an excursion to Shahdag National Park, the largest National Park in Azerbaijan, was organized for the participants. During the excursion, children became acquainted with the Park’s rich biological diversity, as well as with the complex built within the framework of the zubr-related project on the territory of Shahdag National Park to ensure the adaptation of this species to our nature.

On the third day of the camp, an excursion of schoolchildren to the Cülyan waterfall was organized. There, they took part in a clean-up campaign, collecting and sorting waste. Afterwards, the participants visited the 800-year-old ancient oak tree located in the Topçu village of the Ismayilli district, one of Azerbaijan’s biological natural monuments.

At the end of the camp, participants were presented with certificates and commemorative gifts.

It should be noted that zubr inhabited the rich nature of Azerbaijan for centuries. The last individuals of the species were encountered at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains at the end of the last century. Due to ineffective population management, this species became extinct in Azerbaijan. As a result of research conducted in recent years by leading scientists of the region and the world, it was revealed that favorable conditions for zubr exist in our nature.

On the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Founder and Head of the IDEA Public Union, a joint project on the reintroduction of zubr was launched by the IDEA Public Union, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, and WWF Azerbaijan. Within the framework of the project, a complex is being constructed on the territory of Shahdag National Park for breeding zubr and releasing them into the wild. Although the project is aimed at returning zubr to our nature, one of its main directions is also to increase public awareness. For this purpose, such summer camps organized for schoolchildren are of great importance.

On the initiative of the IDEA Public Union, camps on environmental protection and biodiversity have been organized annually on a regular basis since 2014. During this period, more than 450 schoolchildren from the Ismayilli, Salyan, Neftchala, Goranboy, Samukh, Gakh, Shaki, Masalli, Jalilabad, Yardimli, Lankaran, Astara, Goygol, and Lerik districts have participated in the camps.