Project “Conservation and Restoration of Steppes and Diversification of Phytomass Use for Energy Purposes”
The “Conservation and Restoration of Steppes and Diversification of Phytomass Use for Energy Purposes” project aims to preserve steppe ecosystems and to develop a practical, environmentally sound model for working with phytomass to use the energy stored in it. Steppes are losing their natural grass consumers, becoming overgrown with shrubs, accumulating dead plant material, and becoming increasingly vulnerable to fires. Yet this challenge can be turned into a resource: processed phytomass can be used as fuel or as animal feed.
For seven years, the ecostation “The Rock of Practical Botany” has been experimenting with a steppe-like meadow restoration where hay is harvested. If its composition is not suitable for feeding animals, it can be composted, but it is even better to process it into pellet fuel. The team aims to transfer this model to historical and cultural reserves and national parks and create mini eco-trails to promote steppe areas.
The project’s geography encompasses the Popivka community and the Komarivshchyna eco-station in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Activities include a full phytomass management cycle from mowing to pelletizing as well as field research, excursions and expeditions, workshops, lessons, roundtables, and the creation of a handbook and informational materials.
Project goals: to preserve steppes, strengthen community energy efficiency, and share an effective phytomass usage model with stakeholders.
Implementation period: July-November 2025.
The project was implemented by the Ukrainian Ecostations Network and the eco-station “The Rock of Practical Botany” in cooperation with the NGO “Ecoaction” and the Czech humanitarian organization “People in Need”, with financial support from the European Union and partnership participation of the Popivka Territorial Community (Sumy region).
INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS CREATED WITHIN THE PROJECT:
School Info Boards “Nature of Our Region”
These visual educational materials introduce students to three key types of local natural habitats: Forests, Meadows and Steppes, and Wetlands. They explain how these ecosystems function, what determines their condition, and which plants and animals shape their uniqueness. The materials describe the most valuable natural areas of the region, the role of humans in maintaining these ecosystems, and current challenges from wetland drainage to the need to conserve steppe sites. The boards help students see their home region as a living system and understand the historical and cultural value of local nature.
MEADOWS AND STEPPES
FORESTS
WETLANDS
Booklets “How to Restore a Steppe” and “How to Rethink the Steppe”
These booklets address the critical issue of conserving and restoring steppe ecosystems in northeastern Ukraine. They explain the features of steppe vegetation and its relic character resulting from mass ploughing.
The first booklet is a detailed practical guide to creating a steppe plot on arable land, covering all stages from site selection and preparation to sowing, maintenance, and turf formation. The second booklet focuses on the conservation value and alternative uses of steppe resources, examining traditional land use (pastures, hay meadows) and its role in supporting biodiversity, and proposes a range of environmental education and science-popularization activities as well as economic use options.
Video Series
A series of four videos introduces the main objectives, activities, and implementers of the project, showing how the eco-station operates and why steppe-like meadows have become one of the central research areas. The videos present experiments on turning hay into fuel pellets, using it as animal feed, creating souvenir products with steppe symbolism, and using the area as a space for learning about plant diversity.
The series demonstrates how scientific research, local initiative, and community engagement can work together — supporting steppe restoration, making it relevant for reserves and cultural spaces, and opening up new ways of rational phytomass use.
Handbook “The Steppe — a Natural and Cultural Treasure” (author S. Panchenko)
This handbook presents, in a popular science format, the characteristics of steppes in north-eastern Ukraine within the Forest and Forest-Steppe zones. It compares steppes, forests, and wetlands, describes the composition, structure, and types of steppe habitats, the history of land use, and the stages of the seven-year experiment to restore a steppe area on arable land. Both the site itself and the model of its creation are of significant scientific and educational value. The handbook is intended for a wide audience, including local historians, educators, cultural professionals, and nature conservation specialists.