On 4 November, VSU celebrated the Day of the Botanical Garden which was the key event of the Botsad Challenge campaign launched in October 2017, and dedicated to VSU centenary. The celebration was marked with the opening of the Walk of Graduates at the B.M. Kozo-Polyansky Botanical Garden.
“Today we began planting trees along the Walk of Graduates of our university. We are also considering opening such a walk at the Venevitinovo recreation facility, as a lot of trees there were destroyed by fires. VSU organised its first tree planting campaign in 2011. Back than we planted a mixture of broadleaf trees and conifers near Kozhevenny Kordon within the framework of the “Healthy Lifestyle” forum. Now we can already see the results of our work. We do our best to preserve our botanical garden. There are very few such places in the city, as developers use up any available area to construct new buildings. Our city is turning into a concrete jungle, so it is vital to preserve any, even tiny, green area. The Botanical Garden of VSU merges with the Central Park for Recreation and Leisure, which allows us to make the green area larger,” – said Oleg Grishayev, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Social Development.
The Botanical Garden of Voronezh State University was opened in 1937, so it already celebrated its 80th anniversary. It is a unique nature reserve which houses one of the largest collections of live plants in the region, containing tree and shrub vegetation, ornamental grass and over 5000 taxons. There are no similar parks or gardens in the Central Black Earth Region. Today it is the second largest green area in the city.
