Malynivka. Folk Architecture and Green Corners

In Ukraine there are dozens of settlements named Malynivka. In almost every region there is a toponym formed from the name of the bright and fragrant berry. In the Donetsk region, judging by the articles on Wikipedia, there are no fewer than four Malynivkas, and one of them is located in the east of the Pokrovsk district.

Malynivka, Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region

The Ivanivka Village Council: Ivanivka, Vesele, Prohres

There are quite a few villages in Ukraine named in honour of the bearers of one of the most widespread names. Thanks to the enterprising and hard-working pioneers with the name Ivan, settlements and farmsteads named in memory of their founders appeared on the uninhabited lands in all the regions of our state. The village of Ivanivka in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region is the centre of a village council to which small settlements are subordinated: Vesele, Vovche, Yevhenivka, Lysyche, Lozuvatske, Novotoretske, Prohres, Svyrydonivka, and Serhiivka.

Ivanivka and the Ivanivka village council. Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region.

Where the Kazennyi Torets river begins

"A river begins from a small stream" - everyone knows the lines from the children's song. So where does the Kazennyi Torets river, an important blue highway of the Donetsk land, take its beginning?

 

The Kazennyi Torets gully. A pond in the bed of the Kazennyi Torets river. Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region

Avdiivka. The Worked-Out Sand Quarry, a Recreation Zone

In the industrial Donbas, not rich in water resources, a worked-out sand quarry on the eastern side of Avdiivka has become a popular place of rest.

Avdiivka. The sand quarry

Lozova. The Druzhba Arboretum, a Green Friend

In modern towns, wholesale construction leaves less and less space for the green islands that produce oxygen and create saving shade. Ukraine has 57 arboretums, most of them created 20-40 years ago on the site of old forest parks. The Druzhba arboretum in the town of Lozova, Kharkiv region, was founded in the 1930s, and over its almost 100-year history it has changed its structure, its name, its status and its popularity.

 

Lozova, Kharkiv region.  The Druzhba arboretum

The Suderman House in Zelene. An Estate That Was Lucky

A love of travel and discovery is born back in childhood, when moral values and spiritual needs are formed. It is very important to preserve cultural and historical heritage for young explorers and pioneers, to cultivate a sense of responsibility for preserving historical monuments. Memory is our strength in creating the future. Sadly, in recent years there has been no careful treatment of architectural and historical gems; many unique buildings and estates left to us by earlier generations have been irretrievably lost or spoiled beyond recognition by rebuilding. Every historical object is individual and carries the memory of a bygone era, and needs to be preserved and protected.

A one-of-a-kind example of cultural heritage has survived in the village of Zelene in the Dobropillia area.

 

Zelene in the Dobropillia area. The "Manor House" architectural-historical complex. The Suderman house. 1897-1914

Prosiana. The Kaolin Quarry 2020 and Other Sights

The rapid development of the mining industry brought with it the working of quarries, which after exploitation now stand abandoned, harming the surrounding environment, polluting water and air, and destroying the soil-and-vegetation layer.

Pokrovsk. The Yuvileinyi Park and Its Metamorphoses

The Yuvileinyi Park in Pokrovsk is one of the largest parks in Donetsk region. Its territory covers 26.8 hectares.

 

Pokrovsk. The Yuvileinyi Park

Sukha Balka. A Natural Monument and a 2006 Crash Memorial

The Sukha Balka botanical natural monument is located in the Yasynuvata district of the Donetsk region, on the north-western side of the settlement of the same name and a kilometre from the H-20 road to the east.

Sukha Balka. Yasynuvata district. Donetsk region. Natural monument

The Sinna River. Why Are Our Rivers Disappearing?

5 June — World Environment Day

More and more often alarming signals ring out — rivers and wells are shallowing fast, streams are drying up, springs are silting over, blue mirrors are becoming overgrown with reeds. Why is this happening, and who is to blame? Once our rivers had crystal-clear water, but today they present a depressing sight.

Myrnohrad. Donetsk region. A pond on the Sinna River in the Sinna gully

Bila Tserkva. The 'Oleksandriia' Arboretum

The "Oleksandriia" Arboretum is a paradisiacal corner of nature, created by the elements — water, earth and air — and polished by the imagination and the hands of architects, gardeners and sculptors. Perhaps it is not the most hyped or first-rate of the monuments of landscape-garden art, but it is no less stunning, and in age, area and number of plants it is a record-holder in Ukraine.

Bila Tserkva. The "Oleksandriia" Arboretum

Donetsk Botanical Garden. Green Wealth of an Industrial City

In any city the botanical garden is an adornment and a place of rest for the townsfolk.

The "Vershyna" Reserve. The Kaolin Quarry

Azure-turquoise water and snow-white shores.