{"id":35016,"date":"2024-01-20T13:57:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-20T12:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/broz.sk\/the-ground-squirrels-are-sleeping-what-does-our-team-do-in-the-meantime\/"},"modified":"2024-10-29T13:58:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T12:58:29","slug":"the-ground-squirrels-are-sleeping-what-does-our-team-do-in-the-meantime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/broz.sk\/en\/the-ground-squirrels-are-sleeping-what-does-our-team-do-in-the-meantime\/","title":{"rendered":"The ground squirrels are sleeping. What does our team do in the meantime?"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\r\nThe team is definitely not sitting idle, they’re running over the sleeping ground squirrels’ heads and working on clearing future pastures. For example, on the Mur\u00e1nska plain. You surely know the ground squirrel site Biele vody<\/a>, which is very popular for the purpose of observing and “feeding” ground squirrels, sort of like a ground squirrel safari.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nEverything works at this site, the animals graze, the ground squirrels thrive also thanks to the visitors’ food sources. This pasture is therefore not part of the project, if anything, only for promotional and educational purposes. After all, the goal of LIFE projects is not that which works, but the revitalization and restoration of habitats that have been degraded.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAnd so it is with the meadows just beyond this well-known pasture. Namely, 7 hectares of meadows with different owners. Of course, we had to approach them to see if they would allow us to clear their land. And most of them did, so the ground squirrel team got to work – cutting out blackthorns, rose hips and rejuvenated trees. They marked out old significant trees, but occasionally young ones to replace them in the future. Hawthorns, cornels, cherry trees, apple trees, linden, elm, and oak trees remained, a few individuals of each species.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe felling was carried out by a local company and tradesmen from\u00a0 the Mur\u00e1\u0148 area. One plot was even cleared by the owner himself. The firewood was claimed by the owners of the plots.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe also found 100 apple trees up to 1 m high in the blackthorn overgrowth. The skilful fruit-growers from OZ Gemersk\u00e9 gr\u00fane<\/a>, who are trying to save the old varieties of fruit trees from the area of Gemer and Malohont, are gradually grafting them with local varieties – early summer and autumn apples, so that they will catch on and be food for people, but also for ground squirrels. We have fenced the apple trees to protect them from wild animals and sheep. This year we will also add grafting of the cherry trees.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe also sowed some plants important for butterflies, bees or other insects on the bare spots after clearing, which will also enrich the ground squirrels’ diet.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe clearing of the areas has opened access to the more remote meadows, which were previously only mulched by the cooperative. They have now been added to the grazing area, creating a continuous large pasture of 12 hectares (including the 7 cleared). The number of grazing sheep on the site has increased from 300 in 2022 to 500 in 2023 and will grow even more when pasture is fully restored on the sites after clearing.<\/span>\r\n\r\nSo the bottom line for the ground squirrels is that not only will grazing be able to expand, but with it the ground squirrels’ and their natural food resource base. They will be able to expand from large, frequented sites to more remote ones.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAnd that’s great news, especially for the more introverted individuals.<\/span>\r\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]