Published on: 2026-11-10
Source: Preserved Embassy Foundation – Preserved Embassy Foundation –
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The 10th Anniversary International Gathering of Friends of Protected Islands has concluded in Moscow — the largest event in the history of the Friends of Protected Islands Movement, bringing together students and schoolchildren, employees of protected areas, business representatives, scientists, volunteers, and ordinary city residents on the eve of the 110th anniversary of Russia’s protected areas system. For the first time in many years, the Gathering returned to the capital, where the very idea of holding such an event was originally born.
In 2026, the events of the Rally and the business forum “Human. Nature. Time” were attended by just over 550 participants; about 300 delegates came from 43 regions of Russia and 4 foreign countries — Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Abkhazia. The business forum included 25 companies, 20 NGOs, and 98 representatives from 56 protected natural areas — the forum brought together business and protected territories at one table for a full-fledged dialogue for the first time. In addition, more than 5,000 residents and guests of Moscow joined the open city program.
Business, protected areas, local residents, and public organizations at the same table. Or rather, at the tables
One of the central events of the program was the forum “Human. Nature. Time,” organized by the “Reserved Embassy” foundation at the MISIS University venue. Participants included the ANO “Development Energy” of the State Corporation “Rosatom,” “Nornickel,” JTI Russia, MTS, SIBUR, JSC “Russian Railways,” “Polyus,” “Severstal,” “Gazprom Neft,” Management Company “Ural Steel,” Kept, as well as the Presidential Nature Fund, the National ESG Alliance, the National Corporate Volunteering Council, and many others. At the plenary session “The Reserve System towards the 110th Anniversary,” speakers included the General Director of the Presidential Grants Foundation Ilya Chukalin, the General Director of the National ESG Alliance Alexander Sharonov, and other experts.
Thanks to the projects of the “Protected Embassy” Foundation and the “Reserves” Eco-center, representatives of protected areas, as well as local residents living near reserves and national parks, public activists, and volunteers spoke with business representatives. Four thematic sections — on biodiversity conservation, volunteering, socio-economic regional development, and new technologies — demonstrated that environmental investments are coming to the forefront, and businesses are choosing long-term and sustainable nature conservation initiatives.
President of the “Protected Embassy” Foundation, Director of the “Reserves” Eco-Center Natalya Danilina she emphasized: “The Russian network of specially protected natural areas is a large and complex system in which every component must strengthen the others. Only in this way can it develop sustainably. We want the upcoming 110th anniversary of Russia’s reserve system to be not just a jubilee date, but a point of unity — for everyone who professionally protects nature and for those who support them: businesses, non-profit organizations, scientific and educational institutions, volunteers. Only by acting together can we build a system of protected natural areas that will withstand any challenges.”
Protected Dictation: 238 people pondered the language of nature
On National Unity Day, November 4, participants of the Rally took the 6th All-Russian Protected Areas Dictation. The in-person mass dictation gathered 238 people, including 103 students and 42 employees of specially protected natural territories (SPNT). The theme for 2026 — “Peoples in Harmony with Nature” — was implemented for the first time in an original format: the organizers invited communities from across the country to compose the texts themselves. At the Rally, participants wrote a text by Anika Rik — a Perm journalist and eco-activist, a staff member of the previous Rally “Protected Parma.” The dictation was read by popular eco-blogger Zhora Kavanosyan and the Chairwoman of the DZO Movement Elena Knizhnikova.
“This year, the Zapovedny Dictation became authorial: the texts were created by the community members themselves, creatively combining the theme of the unity of the peoples of Russia with the theme of nature. The text by Anika Rik — our colleague from the Zapovednaya Parma Gathering — turned out to be very personal and profound. I was very glad to see that when we asked the children and adults who was writing the dictation for the first time, many raised their hands. This indicates that we are on the right path: engaging new people in friendship with protected areas,” she emphasized Elena Knizhnikova, chairman of the Movement of Friends of Protected Islands, vice-president of the “Protected Embassy” Foundation.
Students proposed solutions for protected areas
As part of the Rally, a case championship of subsidiaries was held, bringing together students from city universities and teams from the regions. For the first time, a special platform was launched — a website that automatically collects cases from protected areas, accepts solutions from teams, and conducts expert evaluations. “The idea to create a separate platform came thanks to feedback from teams of past championships. We are currently testing the website — and it is needed not only for holding championships but also as a case library to show which solutions have already been implemented,” she said Elena Kolechenok, Director of Development of the DO Movement.
“Trace of the Rally”: 25 varieties of roses and other good deeds
The traditional volunteer event “Sled Slyota” this time took place in the Botanical Garden of the Palace of Pioneers on Vorobyovy Gory — symbolically, in the very place where, at the first Slyotas, an alley of trees was planted. Almost 40 volunteers — delegates from Bashkortostan, Rostov, Voronezh, Moscow, Kaluga, Kurgan regions, Primorsky Krai, Mari El, and Kyrgyzstan — planted tree peonies and 25 varieties of park roses, helped to clear windthrow, tidied up the garden’s utility area, and installed a feeder for squirrels and birds.
City program: more than 5,000 Muscovites
The open events of the Gathering attracted more than 5,000 residents and guests of the capital. On October 31, with the support of the Moscow Federation of Nordic Walking, the sports and ecological marathon “Green Ring of Moscow Gathers Friends” took place: participants set out on walking routes and then ran a race along the unique 166-kilometer ring. This route allows one to circle the entire capital through green areas, barely stepping onto noisy city streets. In 11 eco-centers of the Moscow Department of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Protection, excursions, lectures, and master classes were held in honor of the Gathering. At the “Golden Turtle” festival in the “Manezh” exhibition hall, the premiere screening of the film “Special Protection Regime” about the work of reserve inspectors took place, and on November 1, the Day of Reserve Friends was held with master classes, games, and the screening of a documentary film about the “Krasnoyarsk Stolby.”
The rally has returned to the capital
“It is very important for us that this year the event is once again, as the first Gatherings twenty years ago, held in Moscow. Here, people who are genuinely in love with nature meet, exchange experiences, generate ideas that then shape the direction of the protected area community’s development for years to come. On the eve of the 110th anniversary of Russia’s protected area system, it is especially important to ‘synchronize our watches’ and look into the future together,” noted Elena Knizhnikova.
FOR REFERENCE: 10th Gathering of Friends of Protected Islands Organized Movementm “Friends of Protected Islands” together with the Charitable Educational Foundation “Protected Embassy” and the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization of Additional Professional Education “Ecological Educational Center “Reserves” supported by the Presidential Nature Fund and the Presidential Grants Fund. Partners — Roszapovedcenter of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia, Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the city of Moscow. General partner of the Assembly: ANO “Energy of Development» State Corporation “Rosatom”. The Gathering of Friends of the Nature Reserves thanks the hospitable venues of the Palace of Pioneers on Vorobyovy Gory, NITU MISIS, the International Wild Nature Festival “Golden Turtle,” the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, and the State Darwin Museum, Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation.
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