On October 14, students of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of Voronezh State University had an excursion in the Professor Kozo-Polyansky Botanical Garden. The students learnt about the scientific and educational exposition of the apothecary garden, created as part of the Green Campus university project.
The excursion for the guests of the Botanical Garden was conducted by students of the Faculty of Pharmacy of VSU Alexander Dunilin and Fyodor Evsikov. The guests of university’s new Botanical Garden exposition were 20 bachelor students from the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences. The students were accompanied by faculty members: Associate Professor of the Department of Ecology and Land Resources Lilia Alayeva, assistant of the Department of Ecology and Land Resources Elena Negrobova.
The guests of the excursion discussed the features and application of plants of the new exposition of the Botanical Garden. In particular, they considered representatives of 8 main pharmacological classes: vitamins, polysaccharides, fatty oils, glycosides, terpenoids, alkaloids, phenolic compounds and groups of mixed chemical composition.
Representatives of the new apothecary garden are 150 species of green exhibits. The collection of medicinal and aromatic plants is located in the Botanical Garden on an area of 2000 square meters. The apothecary garden includes 3 sections: educational, scientific, and a breeding nursery for especially valuable plants.
“This project is a landscape reconstruction of a previously existing medicinal plant nursery, which for a long time was led by the leading specialist of the Botanical Garden Boris Kuznetsov. The appearance of a new exposition will increase the biodiversity of the Botanical Garden” said Andrey Voronin, Director of the VSU Botanical Garden.
It is assumed that the organic apothecary garden will become a green laboratory for students of three faculties of VSU: the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, the Faculty of Pharmacy, and the Faculty of Geography, Geoecology, and Tourism. Here they will learn how to plant, grow, and process medicinal herbs, prepare herbal teas. Students from other faculties of the university will be able to participate in informal educational and volunteer activities.
The creation of the apothecary garden took place as part of the large-scale Green Campus project, which is currently being implemented by VSU. Its goal is to develop ecological thinking and increase the corresponding activity of the academic community. In 2022, the spring eco-marathon became the key event of the project. Sorting-out rubbish was also started at the university and the organization of "green spaces” began. For example, in April, a panel of stabilised moss in the form of the university’s coat of arms was installed on the first floor of the main building of VSU.
