Together with our partners Ecoaction and Bread for the World, we organized a project competition aimed at preserving biodiversity and adapting to climate change. Out of many applications, we selected the 5 best projects, which will be implemented by 2025. 

Chernelitsya Nature Space Eco-Park

The project, led by the NGO Pokutsky Territorial Development Office, focuses on restoring the natural environment of an abandoned park in Chernelitsya, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Activities include planting native vegetation and installing shelters for animals, creating ecological niches to support biodiversity and improve the area’s appearance.

Additionally, the project emphasizes ecological awareness among local residents. Lectures for students of Chernelitsya Lyceum will cover bird feeding in winter, the ecological roles of bats and insects, and the flora of the Dniester forests.

Community members will take part in planting activities, creating biodiversity spaces, and participating in the photo exhibition “Life on the Dniester Shores.” Specialists from the Dniester Regional Landscape Park will assist in improving local ecological conditions.

Trees as Natural Bird Feeders in Vovchok

This project, spearheaded by the NGO Narodna Vyshcha Shkola “Vovchok”, aims to create a biodiversity space for animals and plants in the center of Vovchok, Chernihiv Oblast. Plans include planting fruit-bearing trees and constructing insect houses to replace artificial bird feeders with natural alternatives.

The area will also serve as an educational hub, hosting outdoor biology and nature lessons. The informal school “Vovchok” plans to conduct over 50 educational hours as part of the project.

In partnership with the Peli can Live charitable foundation and the local forestry service, the initiative will involve selecting and planting trees, setting up insect houses, and installing information boards about local birds, insects, and trees.

BeeLivesMatter Project

The NGO Nova Kalyta leads this project to establish a biodiversity space at the Shkilnyy Vulyk social school enterprise in Kalita, Kyiv Oblast. The space will feature meadows of wild grasses and lavender, green walls, and a rainwater reservoir with an autonomous drip irrigation system to sustain plants during droughts.

A central feature will be a hotel for solitary bees to ensure safe overwintering and support the pollination of surrounding plants.

Local residents, including beekeepers and viticulturists, as well as students from the Kalita Lyceum, will participate in planning and implementing the project. Students will also engage in spreading seed mixtures of local melliferous plants as part of the project’s environmental education component.

New Homes for Bats

The NGO Today Starts the Future is working to protect six species of red-listed bats in the Yelanetsky Steppe Nature Reserve, Mykolaiv Oblast. The project involves installing 20 artificial bat houses to relocate vulnerable colonies currently inhabiting a building in dire need of renovation. Monitoring equipment will also track their relocation and adaptation.

The project includes educational components, such as lectures on bats for students from four schools in the Yelanets community, an online seminar for ecology students at Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, and a professional seminar on bat conservation in steppe ecosystems.

Restoring Ecosystems in Boryslav

Led by the NGO Center for Ecology, Tourism, and Sustainable Development, this project focuses on preserving biodiversity and enhancing the resilience of local ecosystems in Boryslav’s City Park of Culture and Recreation. On a 1-hectare site previously used for oil and ozokerite extraction, the organization will plant 250 seedlings of common oak and white fir, along with 200 seedlings of rare plant species resistant to pests and strong winds.

Students from Drohobych State Pedagogical University will assist with the project and create educational videos on the impact of invasive species on local ecosystems and biodiversity.

The Boryslav City Park municipal enterprise will partner in the project, with its staff receiving specialized training in modern vegetation care methods and climate adaptation techniques to ensure sustainable care for the seedlings.

The selected projects are implemented with the support of the NGO “Center for Environmental Initiatives “Ekodia”” within the framework of the project “Strengthening the network of NGOs “EkoNet” on climate and environmental protection issues in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”, which is implemented by Austausch e.V. and Bread for the World.