Voices of Askania: Steppe Lost
The story of Maryna and Mykola, who grew up in the village near the famous Ukrainian Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve and lost access to it because of the war. The unique natural environment shaped their personalities, values and vision of the world.
- Українська
- English
Every time Mykola meets people and says that he is from Askania-Nova, he sees sincere bewilderment in their eyes. He has been living and working in Kyiv for several years now. But Mykola's childhood and youth are inextricably intertwined with Askania.
His wife, 24-year-old Maryna, who is also from Askania, adds that the biosphere reserve will forever remain in her and her husband’s hearts.
Due to the full-scale war in Ukraine, since 24 February 2022, Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve in the Kherson region has been at risk due to potential fires, hostilities and the movement of military equipment.
“People always ask me: really, are you straight from the reserve? I joke and say, yes, and we even had camels as our neighbors”
“The last time I went home was in January 2022”
A Ukrainian Miracle
Maryna recalls how, as a child, she used to list the regions of Ukraine by the license plates of the cars that came to the reserve for guided tours. These were tourists from all over the country who wanted to see the arboretum, the zoo and the unique Ukrainian steppe.
As a teenager, Mykola even worked as a guide in the reserve. He conducted excursions for school children and showed them trees that have been growing in Askania for more than a century. This helped him to better understand the place he grew up in and learn to appreciate it.
“Over time, I realized that I was lucky because I could see this beauty every day. I could touch it, observe it”.
“Often, when you have something, you don't appreciate it and don’t pay attention to it. And, as they say, you’ll appreciate it more when it's gone. However, I had realized all this even before we lost Askania,” the man recalls sadly. He used to spend all his free time in the park, zoo and steppe in his youth.
Maryna adds that her respect for nature was formed especially at Askania-Nova.
“It was probably really ingrained in us that we shouldn't litter or harm nature. And we were actually very proud of the place where we were born. There are no other places like this in Ukraine that combine the rich flora and fauna, and this pristine steppe zone—still remaining in the form it was hundreds of years ago. That's why this truly is a Ukrainian miracle,” she says.
Both Maryna and Mykola are convinced that now it is necessary to do everything possible to ensure that people in Ukraine and abroad do not forget about Askania-Nova.
Appreciate Life
The couple recalls the village as a friendly community. They still keep in touch with their friends who have moved across the country and the world because of the war.
“There are moments when you realize that only these people will understand you,” Maryna believes.
Social media posts about the violent impact of the war in Ukraine on nature bring about deep pain for all Askania residents.
“Because there were many rare animals in the reserve, I learned to value life—all life. It taught me that human actions can be detrimental in all sorts of ways, especially to animals and plants. That feels especially painful now,” Mykola says.
Even now, when he travels to beautiful places, he always compares them to home in his mind. He compares the sunrises, sunsets and the starry sky over Askania to the rest.
“It's my kind of mental anchor, which you compare everything to anyway,” he explains.
The starry sky above the reserve is the first association Maryna feels for home.
“We always had a great view of the stars, the Milky Way—I miss it very much, especially in August, the period of meteor showers. We always used to go to the open nature, take tourist mats with us, look at the stars with our friends and talk,” she recalls.
Today, she really misses this in Kyiv. Due to the light pollution of the big city, the stars above it are much harder to see.
Solastalgia
Solastalgia is a term that describes a feeling of longing, sadness or anxiety caused by changes in the natural environment that was once a source of comfort and peace. This is a feeling that is very familiar to Mykola and Maryna.
Maryna often still cries when she remembers her childhood, her family and her interaction with nature. If she could return to the time before the full-scale war, she would spend more time in the steppe. “When I get the opportunity to go back, I will go to that hill where we used to watch the sunrise and the stars. I’ll take the Ukrainian flag with me, sit there and look out into the steppe. I just miss it so much. I would never have thought that I would miss the steppe,” the girl says with feeling.
Mykola adds that the Kakhovka tragedy was the most difficult day for him after the war started.
“When the hydroelectric power plant dam was blown up, I had a feeling that my home was getting further away from me. The dam is a symbolic structure, a bridge to the left bank, but it is also a bridge to life, to my childhood as I remember it”.
The man adds that he felt the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam was the destruction of his past and future—because both Askania and the nature of the Kherson region are part of his personality.
“I am sure that a person is shaped by the environment in which they live. And it's not just the people around you, but the nature and landscapes as well”.
Mykola often imagines the war ending and him crossing the Dnipro River via the repaired Kakhovka Dam, getting home and seeing Askania again. The man understands that the war has changed the place of his childhood but he believes that it still remains unique.
“It is impossible to take the beautiful sunrises and sunsets of Askania away, no matter where it is, no matter under whose control. You can send away Chapman's zebras or Przewalski's horses, but not stop the sun or turn it around so that it rises from the other side. Thank God, that is beyond the power of man.”
Maryna adds that she dreams not only of restoring the biosphere reserve but also of a new peaceful life for her village. After all, Askania-Nova is not only a park and a zoo, it is also a settlement where 3,500 people lived before the full-scale war.
“This place needs to be revived in the future. We need to help nature, we need to help people, we need to make this place attractive to people again. I would hate for these unique places to be deserted,” Mykola concludes, keeping the image of peaceful Askania in his heart.
The impact of the destruction of Ukraine's natural biodiversity on the formation of a new generation was discussed during the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in Kyiv. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine, together with the civil society organization 'Cultural Platform of Transcarpathia' and Ukrainian youth, presented the 'Safe Environment for Children' dimension at the Summit through the exhibition 'Paths of the Steppes: From Crimean Slopes to Luhansk Expanses', which explores the relationship between the environmental challenges of war and the well-being of future generations.
