During our latest ecological and educational event with the youth of the Synevyr village, we talked about the features of the Carpathian forests and their inhabitants, and also revealed the values that people have been given by the Creator through nature. Considering this topic, the children not only admired the diversity of nature of their native land but also got acquainted with the various processes that take place in the forest. In particular, there was a discussion about forest pests. At this stage of communication, among other things, the lecturer asked the question: has the Creator created anything excessive in nature?
There were different children’s opinions. Exercise “What’s in the bag?” helped to find the right answer. The children were putting their hands in the bag and trying to touch its contents alternately. The discussion turned out to be energetic and emotional. Some participants in the exercise guessed that there was a polypore mushroom inside.
Although this species destroys trees, it was once vital to humans. When there were no matches, the fungus was extracted from this mushroom- a flammable substance that was used to ignite the fire (tinder was lightened in a single spark). And from a mushroom cut out the caps and made a candlewick for kerosene lamps. Moreover, polypore mushroom was used as a hemostatic agent: it was applied to wounds. The mushroom was also used to control mosquitoes, and now it is used to make decorative flower stands.
So, although the polypore mushroom harms the trees on which it lives, it has become an important and accessible gift of the forest for people in times when there were no progressive tools that we have today. This exercise was a kind of response to the fact that the Creator took care of everything, and there is nothing excessive in nature. The event was hosted by Yurij Babichyn.
The event took place within the project “Churches and public organizations together for environmental education in national parks”, implemented by the Institute of Ecological and Religious Studies and NP “Synevyr” in cooperation with the German Nature Conservation Union (NABUBundesverband, NABUInternational) and supported by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs AuswärtigesAmt, AA_Kultur).
#CivilSocietyCooperation
Informational service of IERS