Author Archives: Tóth Máté

Over the past two months, we attended five events to promote the project and insect-friendly grazing methods among farmers.

In September, we participated in the ÖKO Expo Exhibition organized by the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture in Debrecen, the 29^th National Herders’ Competition, Shepherds’ Meeting and Shepherd’s Dance Competition in Hortobágy, and the National Agricultural and Food Exhibitions (OMÉK) in Budapest.

In October, interested parties could learn about our project at the Hortobágy St. Dömötör’s Day Drive-In Celebration, Crane Festival and Craft Fair, and in November at the University of Debrecen’s One Health Day event.

At these events, we consulted with more than 100 farmers and informed them about the harmful effects of ivermectin-based anti-worm veterinary drugs on nature and ways to avoid them.

At the end of October, we held our open Advisory Board meeting and the Steering Committee meeting, along with the related field activities. Together with our partners, we reviewed the results achieved so far, discussed the areas that require further development, and coordinated the tasks planned for the upcoming period.

We thank everyone in attendance for their participation and active contribution!

There was a huge interest in the 2nd Biodiversity Conference organised by the LIFEforBUGSandBIRDS project, the Biodiversity Centre of the University of Debrecen, the Faculty of Agricultural, Food Sciences and Environmental Management of the University of Debrecen and the Hortobágy National Park Directorate. The theme of the event was innovative conservation with animals, focusing on regenerative agriculture, grazing and rewilding. The conference was attended by representatives of the most prominent national conservation organisations as well as international experts. The two-day conference, which included presentations and field activities, had a great atmosphere, and provided a great opportunity for professional exchange and learning from each other’s work.

The venue was provided by the Visitor Centre of Hortobágy National Park. We thank all those present for their participation!

We started the year by organising a regional workshop, where we introduced the project and the idea and methods of insect-friendly grazing for shepherds and farmers involved in livestock grazing. The workshop allowed the sharing of experiences and opinions about the subject among shepherds, farmers and researchers. Based on the feedback received, the workshop was very useful for both the farmers and us as we learned a lot from each other, for which we thank the participants.

We have installed information boards to demonstrate the project activities and the natural values of the area. One of the four boards is located in the courtyard of the busy Pilgrims’ House in Harta, where locals and visitors from further afield can learn about our activities. The other three have been installed on the edge of the project area, and one of them is along a nature trail that will soon be built.

In the project, the University of Debrecen conducts continuous surveys of shorebird populations and the monitoring of their nests. Nesting success studies provide important information both on habitat quality and the impact of habitat management implemented in the project. This year, we monitored a total of 169 nests of four species (Northern Lapwing, Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Common Redshank) from nest-building to the fledging of chicks. Among them, we observed families with chicks of the Kentish Plover, one of the target species of the project. In addition, we fitted colour rings on a total of 14 chicks of three species, which will help us to monitor them more effectively in the future.

Photos: Lilla Kocsis