Field practices
Field practices continue usually from several days to several weeks and are similar to actual research expeditions. In the vicinities of Moscow, the participants carry out a kind of research work. They study methods of analysis of ecological factors effecting plants and animals in different seasons. During evening "conferences" the students discuss their results and methods, learn to prepare presentations and to participate in scientific discussions
Landscape familiarization practices aimed mainly at general cognition of the environments. They allow students to learn about various biological phenomena in different nature zones. Such expeditions are of importance because they show clearly how living beings got adapted to particular environments. Besides, the students learn some practical approaches to the nature conservation. These include:
- cadastral chart-making as a first step of assessment of distribution and abundance of particular species;
- anthropogenic impact on various plants and animals;
- floral and faunal explorations of anticipated protected territories;
- explorations of existing protected territories in respect to inventory of their floras and faunas.
