They are the first to feel the spring sun’s rays, which are not yet warm but are already beautiful. Primroses bloom when the trees have yet to sprout leaves. Primroses absorb a lot of moisture as the snow melts in the spring.
Unfortunately, some of these flowers are on the verge of extinction. At the start of spring, elders begin selling small bouquets of early spring flowers. Can you imagine not seeing a single such bouquet on a sunny spring day? Let’s go to the forest, where there are no flowers either. All because numerous primrose species are listed in Ukraine’s Red Book. These delicate plants are on the verge of extinction, which is heartbreaking to admit.
Oksana Strichko, the head of the “Young valeologists” group at the Transcarpathian regional center of children’s and youth creativity “PADIUN,” led a workshop on the subject. She explained the significance of spring heralds to young nature lovers. The first spring flowers provide food for many insects. When the primroses are gone, it is easy to predict what will happen to butterflies, bees, and other insects. Many of them keep pests out of the forest, and no one will “treat” the trees if the insects don’t stop.
The Red Book contains information on the majority of Ukraine’s primroses. This means that they should never be plucked, let alone purchased from elders. Primroses are lovely, but only in the wild, because plucked flowers only “live” for a few days.
The young naturalists eagerly agreed to assist with nature conservation and created spring flowers with their own hands. Homemade flowers may not be as beautiful as live flowers, but they are full of love and inspiration.
The children eagerly started making their own flowers like Heifel saffron after watching a presentation about the numerous primroses and hearing a fascinating story about each spring bloom. The atmosphere at work was nice and easy going. The unexpected outcome of the work surprised both the teacher and the young naturalists.
Let everyone’s eyes, hearts, and souls be delighted by the first blooms! Appreciate and cherish the resources Mother Nature supplies you with with all of your heart.
The event was held within the framework of cooperation between between the Institute of Ecological and Religious Studies- IERS (headed by Alexander Bokotey) and the Nature Conservation Union of Germany (NABU Bundesverband, NABU International), project coordinators – Ivan Tymofeiev (NABU), and financially supported by VGP Foundation.
Oksana Stichko,
Methodologist of the Department of Ecology and Nature Conservation