Round mail 1
Dear participants in the Ukrainia field trip,
Here are some first news about the trip, which will take place between July 05 (Thu) and July 19 (Thu) - duration about 10 days. I first come with quite a bit of logistics, before we will discuss what we do and what we can see.
The place where we will go is the Gomolsha Natl. Park S of Charkiv, where the University has a field station – this was featured in the little slide show on the field trip introduction seminar we had by the end of last year.
There are two ways to come to Charkiv, which are probably equally inexpensive. Here are same example flights:
1 Directly to Charkiv
Hinflug: Sa. 07. Jul 2018, Berlin (TXL) → Warschau (WAW)
Airline: LOT Polish Airlines (LO 392), Ab: 07:40 | An: 09:05
Warschau (WAW) → Charkiw (HRK),
Airline: LOT Polish Airlines, (LO 759), Ab: 10:55 | An: 14:00
(we may at the same day go to Gomolsha Natl. Park, it will be a 2 hr bus ride)
and back
Rückflug: Mi. 18. Jul 2018, Charkiw (HRK) → Warschau (WAW)
Airline: LOT Polish Airlines, (LO 760), Ab: 14:40 | An: 15:50
Warschau (WAW) → Berlin (TXL)
Airline: LOT Polish Airlines, (LO 391), Ab: 20:30 | An: 22:00
Except for the early departure and late arrival in Berlin (you will not make it the same day from / to Greifswald) this is the most convenient version, since we can go the same day to Gomolsha.
2 Over Kiev, than night train to Charkiv
Flight with Air Baltic over Riga to Kiev
08:55 Berlin (Tegel) (TXL) BT212 – 11:35 Riga (RIX)
18:15 Riga (RIX) BT404 – 20:05 Kiev (Boryspol) (KBP)
and back
09:40 Kiev (Boryspol) (KBP) BT401 – 11:35 Riga (RIX)
18:15 Riga (RIX) BT213 – 19:00 Berlin (Tegel) (TXL)
These flights are more convenient regarding travel to Berlin, but you have to add at least one day for both ways since you need the night train (10 hrs or so) to Charkiv – my colleague will supply further information. Since I am always shot in time, I am likely to choose version 1 myself, but we can as well divide into two groups, for those who want to see Kiev, which is certainly worth a visit!
(Much cheaper is the bus to Kiev, there are connections from Berlin, but 40+ hrs at the bus is not a joke...)
This would be the first point:
Think about the flights, check the internet for alternative ways if you wish, and make up your mind how to travel. To discuss this, we will meet at
Thursday, Apr12, 18:00 at the Director’s Room (Soldmannstr 15, 1st floor)
This will also be the meeting where we will definitely discuss who comes with us: I can take 12 students and have a few more registrations, unfortunately. If you are seriously interested in the trip, please show up or authorize a peer who will attend to express your interest.
After discussing the travel, I most likely will set a deadline to pay for all the accommodation costs (100 €) for these who will come with us, here are the data:
Wire the money to my account until APR 26 (a data where we can discuss more, if needed)
Deutsche Kreditbank AG, IBAN DE16120300000001821990
This is than your „entry ticket“ for the trip. For the travel (not for the accommodation) you will get back ca. 100 € as well after the trip, I have filed a respective application for 12 students and the money is already planned in the faculty’s budget.
The flights will cost around 200 €, if we book early, therefore I scheduled the early meeting (my first trial last Thursday did not work since it was before the semester started).
The stuff at the field station may offer us a simply meal to very low prices in the morning and in the evening, may be a good idea, but the next village is 3 km away, where all the necessary things can be bought (but do not expect a shopping mall!).
We have as well to agree about the preparation seminar for the trip, which I would like to have at several Thursday evenings, if that works, here a tentative schedule:
I 17.05. (Thu) History of the Ukraine, the current conflict with Russia
II 24.05. (Thu) Vegetation and agricultural importance of the region
III 31.05. (Thu) Gradients in woodlands from western to eastern Europe
and ecological niches of tree species
VI 14.06. (Thu) Research part of the field trip
- data handling in the filed
- myxomycete sampling for population ecology
- if needed: Plant determination course II (advanced)
V 21.06. (Thu) organization and logistics, equipment etc.
I hope it will be a nice field trip in a region where most of us probably would not go just that for a leisure trip (the Canary Islands, for instance, are extremely interesting with their vegetation but you can see and explore that all yourself...). You will be surprised, since the vegetation of these eastern (Sarmatian) woodlands looks like here at the first glance, but at the second you will see interesting changes – species which are common here are rare there and vise versa, some will drop out (European beech as a prominent example) and others, new ones, will show up. We will see all that, and my idea is to connect woodland ecology with a bit of research on myxomycete ecology and population biology.
This will be done togethjer with my colleague Dimitry Leontyev from the University in Charkiv and a bunch of his students – and that is an interesting opportunity to get in touch!
ee you all next Thursday, Martin Schnittler |
