Zakarpattia, Ukraine | 2024–Present
The Grassroots Institute (TGI) Ukraine has significantly expanded its Field Action & Advocacy, Training & Capacity Building, and Research & Studies functions to strengthen pollinator conservation, sustainable beekeeping, community resilience, and documentation of the rich cultural and ecological heritage of the Ukrainian Carpathians. Since 2024, these integrated initiatives have brought together universities, expert beekeepers, local communities, researchers, youth, and territorial hromadas to promote biodiversity conservation while preserving traditional knowledge and strengthening local governance for sustainable rural development.
Europe is home to an extraordinary diversity of wild pollinators — including bees, butterflies, hoverflies and moths — that are indispensable for food production, ecosystem health, and biodiversity. However, pollinator populations have declined dramatically in recent decades due to habitat degradation, intensive agriculture, pesticide use, climate change, and landscape fragmentation. In Ukraine, the ongoing war has compounded these challenges by disrupting beekeeping activities, reducing honey production, and placing additional pressure on native bee populations. TGI Ukraine has therefore prioritized the conservation of pollinators, particularly the unique Carpathian honey bee, by working closely with local queen bee breeders, traditional beekeepers, researchers, and young conservation leaders.
As part of its expanding field programmes, TGI Ukraine has intensified practical conservation activities across Zakarpattia and neighbouring Carpathian landscapes. Working alongside experienced beekeepers and local communities, the Institute promotes pollinator-friendly farming systems, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable apiculture while advocating for stronger protection of native Carpathian bee populations. Key field initiatives include:
One of the flagship activities under TGI Ukraine’s youth engagement programme was the “Expeditions to the Wild for Pollinators”, organized from 2–12 July 2024 under the leadership of Dr. Pavlo Leno, member of TGI Ukraine. 9 university students participated in an intensive field expedition across remote areas of the Ukrainian Carpathians where they received first-hand exposure to pollinator ecology, sustainable beekeeping, and biodiversity conservation.
The expedition included practical learning sessions with experienced local beekeepers from Novoselytsia and Simerky, while participants also visited the apiaries of renowned Rakhiv-based queen bee breeder Mr. Roman Boychuk, who demonstrated advanced techniques in breeding Carpathian bee queens and maintaining the genetic purity of native bee populations. Students learned directly from practitioners through field demonstrations, apiary visits, discussions on bee health, and observation of apitherapy facilities, gaining valuable insights into both traditional and modern beekeeping practices.
Building on the success of its pollinator education programme, TGI Ukraine expanded its capacity-building initiatives during 2025 through active participation in the Carpathian Ethnographic Expeditions, facilitated by Dr. Pavlo Leno and coordinated by the Faculty of History and International Relations, Uzhhorod National University. Conducted between May and July 2025, the three-month expedition involved approximately 25 students and young researchers from programmes in History, Civic Education, Archaeology, Ethnology, and Cultural Studies. Working alongside university professors and international experts, participants visited 15 settlements across the Dubrynych-Maly Bereznyi, Bilky, and Batiovo territorial hromadas of Zakarpattia. Training and field learning focused on:
The expeditions enabled students to learn directly from local communities while strengthening interdisciplinary research skills that combine biodiversity conservation with cultural heritage preservation.
TGI Ukraine continues to integrate scientific research with community-based field action to generate evidence that informs conservation, policy development, and sustainable local governance. During the 2025 Carpathian Ethnographic Expeditions, multidisciplinary teams documented both ecological and socio-cultural dimensions of rural life across the Carpathians. Research themes included:
The research generated a substantial body of scientific and educational material, including more than 200 structured interviews, thousands of field photographs, and dozens of documentary video recordings. These valuable resources have enriched the collections of the Laboratory of Ethnography and Local History at the Faculty of History and International Relations, providing an important foundation for future academic research, educational programmes, policy analysis, and community outreach.
Building on these achievements, TGI Ukraine will continue expanding its integrated programmes on pollinator conservation, biodiversity protection, sustainable agriculture, ethnographic research, community capacity building, and participatory local governance. Future initiatives will deepen collaboration with hromadas, universities, research institutions, beekeeper associations, and international partners while extending successful approaches from the Carpathian region into additional areas of western, central, and eastern Ukraine. Through this integrated approach, TGI Ukraine is demonstrating how environmental conservation, scientific research, cultural heritage, and community empowerment can work together to strengthen resilient landscapes and thriving rural communities.
