BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. On December 24,
a festive celebration for children was organized at the Central
Botanical Garden at the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President
of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of the IDEA
Public Union, Trend reports.
The event, organized by the Baku City Executive Authority, was
intended for minors living in dormitories. The program included
entertainment, games, and musical performances, and the children
received various gifts.
Later, Leyla Aliyeva, together with the children, released 10
squirrels raised at the Baku Zoo into the Central Botanical Garden
as part of the IDEA Public Union's "Urban Ecology" project. The
project aims to protect and restore fauna species typical of urban
environments and previously widespread in the city. Another goal of
releasing the squirrels is to allow them to reproduce naturally
within the Botanical Garden.
Baku was once home to numerous squirrels and other animals
roaming freely among people in parks and green spaces. However, due
to environmental challenges at the end of the last century, the
numbers of these species plummeted. In recent years, large-scale
landscaping and beautification projects undertaken across the
country - particularly efforts to reduce illegal deforestation in
Baku and plant countless new trees by the IDEA Public Union - have
created favorable conditions for the return of many animal species
to the city.
