12.05.2025, Ukraine Practical programme

It was an event with a vision for the future, a course that was more than just a learning unit for students from Ukraine. As co-initiator, the LIB supported a practical programme for Ukrainian biology students from Kharkiv and thus the training of those who have to restore the natural areas damaged by bombs, tanks and mines to their pre-war state.

"For most of the students who travelled from Ukraine, this was their first visit abroad, their first field internship and their first opportunity to see students "live" and not as a tile on a screen," says Andreas Schmidt Rhaesa, Curator of Invertebrates at the LIB's Museum der Natur Hamburg, describing his impressions of the two-day practical seminar. "It was very moving to be able to experience the interaction and the great professional interest of the 17 guests from Ukraine."

Ukraine is endeavouring to maintain university operations, even if this is only possible under difficult circumstances, particularly in the east of the country. Due to the war situation, students at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in Kharkiv, Ukraine, are currently only being taught online.

The LIB, together with the University of Hamburg and other supporters, launched this purely donation-financed pilot project as an expression of solidarity with Ukraine. The organisers would like to build on this next year and are also thinking about semesters abroad for the students.

Ponds, meadows, forests and Elbe wood - the course programme at the Pevesdorf field station in northern Germany included collection and identification exercises on animals and plants and units for understanding ecological relationships. According to Schmidt-Rhaesa, this knowledge is essential for biology students, especially in view of the natural landscapes in Ukraine that have been destroyed by the war.

Natural landscapes are severely affected and impaired by war activities. Larger animals are wounded, shot down or driven away by noise. Trenches, journeys with military equipment, blasting by bombs or mines tear up landscapes and change them. Remnants of ammunition and military equipment can contaminate the soil. All these changes have a negative impact on the local flora and fauna.

Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa: "Especially after the end of the war, Ukraine will be reliant on experts to protect and restore natural landscapes."