Botanical Exchange Program: Volgograd State Agrarian University/Volgograd Botanical Garden

Today was a whirlwind of events. We began the day with a trip to the Volgograd State Agrarian University where we were honored to act as delegates at a conference to address an increasing need for more development in eco/agricultural tourism in Russia and neighboring countries. There was a great feeling of international collaboration to the event. After presentations we were treated to a session about food carving and were selected as students to learn a few techniques. Our efforts certainly garnered a few laughs and a consolation photo with a group of students in attendance.

After presentations and a delicious lunch with the head of the department and other delegates, we struck out for Volgograd Botanical Garden with Oleg and Elena to tour the garden and facilities. As soon as we arrived we also discovered we would be interviewed for local Russian television. The interviews were fun, with just a question for each of us. It really gave us a chance to explain our hopes on plant conservation, strengthening international communication, and helping develop and fund the expansion of Volgograd Botanical Garden. Next stop was the tissue culture facility, which was a very efficient and effective operation. Hundreds of species of plants were in cultivation in the lab, with various tests on hormone levels and media types in progress. Facilities like this produce a wealth of knowledge for plant propagation. They should be very proud of the work they are doing. I hope we can collaborate on some of these trials, especially on red listed material, in the near future.

After a short break with Oleg and promises to come back on Saturday to view the additional production facilities in Volzhsky, we were off for our four hour journey to Scherbakovsky Nature Park to visit sites along the Volga river and hopefully see several endangered species.