In recent days, our volunteers have been going to the Bratislava airport to feed the ground squirrels. Every roughly 20-30 meters they throw a little sunflower to get them used to going to these places. We are planning to catch ground squirrels there and transport them to other locations in order to strengthen several populations in southern and western Slovakia.
From several ground squirrels localities in Slovakia, they tell us that the squirrels are waking up.
On the borders of ÚEV Čiližské močiare, the home to a large population of the Pannonian root vole, we planted a tree line of hawthorns, oaks and alders and completed it with an agate stakes.
As part of the LIFE Microtus II project, we will modify the end of the Čiližský potok brook so it will flow freely and create new wetlands on an area of approximately 40 hectares.
We are trying to restore grazing to the Pieskovcové chrbty locality, which will be crucial for the protection of rare species. So far, we are at least cleaning and removing air raids.
Pine trees and spruce trees gradually overgrew even the territory of Svarkovica prtected area. The shading and acid fallout of needles increasingly changed the ecological factors of the environment, and without human intervention, the rare habitat and the species bound to it would gradually disappear even from this hotspot of biodiversity.
One of the goals of the LIFE PANALP project is the involvement of volunteers in nature conservation. In this way, event participants will not only help nature, but also learn a lot about active care of target habitats and species. Information thus reaches the public through the experiences of individuals. We have therefore organized several brigades in autumn 2021.
At the site of the maountain Apollo, one of our rarest butterflies, we cleared approximately 1 hectare of debris from invasive trees. Since this light-loving species of butterfly requires sufficient space with nutritious and nectar-producing plants. We believe that this intervention will greatly help the maintenance of this species in the territory and, among other things, will also support other species of rare plants and insects.
This year’s autumn monitoring has yielded gratifying results. We found that the number of voles in the locality near the village of Čiližská Radvaň increased compared to previous years.
Intensive farming on large areas literally erased life from the country. This is largely due to a poorly designed agricultural policy that encourages intensive farming, which creates a huge burden on the environment. Variety disappears from the rural landscape and with it also birdsong, butterflies and pollinators. If we lose the natural diversity of the landscape, we will also lose its health and resilience.