Under Grassland-HU LIFE Integrated Project, Herman Ottó Institute Nonprofit Ltd., with its project partners, has decided to hold a second photo contest again this year. The aim of this year contest is to draw attention to the importance of conservation of grasslands through the presentation and promotion of grasslands habitats and species, and their high biodiversity values.
On 28 November 2023, the fourth installment of The Secrets of Grasslands photo competition was awarded.Exhibition of the 30 best photos was opened at the Herman Ottó Conference Centre.
Representatives of the European Commission's Nature Conservation Directorate have arrived in Hungary for a bilateral meeting on the Natura 2000 network. The meeting, which took place on 14-15 February 2024, provided the opportunity to discuss specific nature conservation issues and to present the results of the Grassland-HU LIFE integrated project.
For the first in its history, the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden have welcomed birch mice to its terrariums. In early June, researchers collected two pairs of Hungarian birch mice from the grassland of Borsod County. These mice were taken to the Budapest Zoo, so that the behaviour and lifestyle of these unique animals could be observed.
The Grassland Conservation Management Advisory Service was established under the Grassland-HU integrated project to promote conservation-friendly grassland management and provide professional support for farmers who are open to adapt agri-environmental measures.
In Péter Bacsó's absurdist classic film The Witness, the communist state accuses the protagonist and his disgraced friend of passing "secret messages in ground squirrels skins" to the frogmen. According to the story, the two characters do indeed come into contact with the "dam's greatest enemy, the ground squirrel", beating the crap out of a (european) hamster.
Grey cattle will once again graze the marsh meadows of the Nagy-rét at Kölked thanks to the Grassland project. In November 2023, the animals arrived at their new home, the recently opened animal husbandry facility of the Danube-Drava National Park Directorate.
A travelling exhibition of the photo competition A gyepek titkai III. can be seen in the Lászlómajor Visitor Centre and Demonstration Garden of the Fertő-Hanság National Park Directorate until 28 August 2023.