Botanical Exchange Program: Volga-Akhtuba Flood-Land

The views for today brought us well into the less populated areas to the east and south of Volgograd and Volzhysky. We began our journey by meeting up with some wonderful conservationists working out of Leninsk and our fantastic intepreter Elena. We actually had two Elena's with us. Elena (Leninsk) and Lubov were kind enough to provide us with a wealth of information as we left the city and headed east to the Volga-Akhtuba Flood-Land protected area. Here we quickly saw how dry the area can be this late in the season. The landscape was very arid except for the oasis like areas near rivers. The stunning yellow colors we observed were from Fraxinus pennsylvanica or green ash. It was strange seeing a tree under threat in our home city thriving so well as an invasive species on the other side of the world.

As we continued east through the arid plains away from the river, we were told of the Mongols. One of the major cities of the Mongol empire, around 100,000 in population, had once existed near our path. The city was an important part of the Silk Road but was completely destroyed when the Mongols were driven from the area. This part of the drive was so arid that we saw fires burning on both sides of the road. Fires can be very frequent in the dry season.

We arrived in Leninsk for a brief snack and a view of the education and conservation center there and had some great conversations with Elena, Lubov, and Tatyana. It was a great exchange of information learning about how the people of the region interact with nature, with ideas offered up to increase local participation to help the nature area with funding and volunteer time for restoration projects.

Turning south, towards areas with small lakes and rivers, the landscape began to change again. We began to see more open forests of Populus, Quercus robur, and plenty of Fraxinus. In many ways, it reminded us of the savannas of Africa. Very little vegetation under the canopies of the sparse trees.

Lunch was served at another education center, an old school, where children come in to hike and learn about the flora of the region. Students can sometimes stay the night and over 20 of them can be accommodated. The food was an amazing blend of Shchi (cabbage) soup, as well as potatoes, chicken, and a fresh bought watermelon. The taste of a good watermelon was very serious business.

After lunch, the journey continued as we visited a nursery for pheasants and a sanctuary for a wounded raptor. It was hard to not feel for such a majestic creature that was missing a wing and unable to fly. As we began to steer our journey back to Volgograd, we took a brief stop to stretch our legs and visit some open range cows. To our great luck and pleasure, the local herder and his wife were very friendly and let us take a few pictures with them.

Lastly, we were able to see an amazing lake that had completely dried out. Our hosts told us this is the first time the lake, often over 3 feet where we had taken pictures, had completely dried out. Truly a very dry year.

Apologies for the large number of pictures, but it was hard to leave out the details.