The “Tiger” student group organized by the Amur Tiger Center started its work in Primorye in the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere State Reserve. For two months 25 student volunteers, settling at the Blagodatnoe cordon, will be constructing the "North Cape" ecological path. The work is hard and daily! Conditions - taiga! And of course, we should know our heroes. Today we are starting a series of interviews with participants of the first construction team in the history of the reserve.
Meet Anastasia Rokina, administrator of the “Tiger” student group – an important and vital person. The work goes on and the meals must be on schedule. Fed and happy student is the key to the success of the big operation.
The dossier: Anastasia Rokina, Deputy head of Primorsky regional department of Youth All-Russian public organization "Russian student's groups», a graduate of Vladivostok State Medical University, has a tourist experience, participated in many student trips.
- Anastasia, tell me how you became a "tigress"?
- The creation of such a group has been discussed since the middle of the autumn of 2013. Closer to winter it became clear that the "Russian student teams" will be the partner of the project. A recruitment to the squad began then. We have chosen the students for whom the work in the Sikhote-Alin Reserve was close to their profile. The advantage was given to future ecologists, foresters, veterinarians from Far Eastern Federal University and Primorskaya State Academy of Agriculture. I live not far from here,
in the Roshchino village of Krasnoarmeyskiy district, so I was immediately offered to participate in this project. And I happily decided to change office work to beautiful nature.
- Did you visit the Sikhote-Alin Reserve before?
- I am here for the first time! Didn’t get to visit the Reserve before.
- Students say that you're the first to wake up in the camp. Share your daily routine.
- I am now the head of our provision, so I get up at about half past five, in order to light the stove, cook breakfast and brew tea before 8 a.m. Then I see the well-fed group off to the trail and have a little rest. Around 11 a.m. I start to make lunch, then do the cleaning and make dinner. Early rises are pretty hard, as I go to sleep at the beginning of the twelfth.
- Do men on duty help?
- Oh sure. Every day I have two assistants. A girl helps in the kitchen, and a young man does all the man’s work: carries firewood, bags of food, cans of water - in other words, you can’t do it without the male power any way.
- The group has been here for three days, living and working at the Blagodatnoe. This is the beginning of the project. How are they doing?
- The mood is good – the students are accustomed to the conditions; they used to have a month of practical work in the forest every year. I believe that we are making progress – we’ve been complimented by the foreman.
- What rules are established in the "Tiger" camp?
- Of course we have the dry law. In addition, the construction team follows the reserve rules: observe a curfew, go through the territory of the reserve in groups, it is still a taiga around. Everybody work smoothly, there are no complaints in the group. Well now I have to go and cook some dinner.
- Anastasia, thank you! And good luck to our construction team!