Volunteers for Desman Census at "Prisursky" Nature Reserve

Volunteers for Desman Census at "Prisursky" Nature Reserve

An open competitive selection is underway for participation in a session of the "Reserve Management RGO" project in the Chuvash Republic. Volunteers are invited to spend a week at the "Prisursky" Nature Reserve, where they will participate in census of one of Russia's rarest and least studied small mammals – the Russian desman.

The Russian desman is an endemic species of the country, a relict species that survived mammoths but is now on the verge of extinction. Its population is rapidly declining across Russia, and without regular monitoring, scientists will not be able to timely identify threats and take action. The data collected by volunteers will directly form the basis of the state strategy for species conservation – meaning it will help prevent its extinction.

The session will be led by the staff of the nature reserve and specialists from the Club of Friends of the Russian Desman.

• Participants will work on floodplain lakes, where volunteers will learn the desman census methodology by tracking burrows, will patrol routes in waders, record data, and participate in monitoring. Concurrently, censuses of other semi-aquatic mammals – the beaver and the muskrat – will be conducted
• The work will not be limited to scientific observations. Participants will assist in cleaning shores and water bodies of trash and illegal fishing gear, and will learn to work with camera traps, navigation, and field equipment

• Scientific volunteers: geographers, biologists, ecologists, zoologists, cartographers
• Eco- and media volunteers

Requirements for participants:

• Age 18 and over. Readiness for physical work, discipline, ability to work in a group
• Media volunteers must be ready to transfer the filmed material (including raw footage and edited videos) to RGO by the deadline specified by the project curator, while retaining copyright
• Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis and insurance are mandatory

• Accommodation in guest houses
• Self-catering
• Environmental education program: master classes, lectures, hikes to picturesque places, screening of thematic films