The city of Irkutsk is located in Eastern Siberia. The climate here is sharply continental, that is, temperature jumps are observed throughout the year. Due to the proximity to Lake Baikal (55 km), weak earthquakes are periodically observed.
Irkutsk is an ancient city, built as a prison. The date of foundation is 1661. The settlement was badly damaged in 1716 and in 1879 due to fires, so it took many years to recover.
Before the revolution, the city was a merchant, and in Soviet times - a place where political prisoners were exiled. Today, the modern city is a scientific, industrial, educational and cultural center, with a population of just over 623 thousand people. On the territory of the municipality there are several protected areas:
- Botanical Garden;
- Kai relic grove;
- Dendrological park and others.
Appearance story
The first ideas for creating the Botanical Garden in Irkutsk appeared at the end of the XIX century. Then the plans were to remove the Jerusalem cemetery, and in its place to build a garden. But multiple tragic events in the country postponed long-term plans for many years.
The garden was opened only in 1940, when the laying of the first collections began. During the war, the Botanical Garden in Irkutsk acted as a food base, then about 2 hectares were assigned for planting garden and vegetable crops. However, this did not stop the introduction of plants.
In 1964, the arboretum was laid on the territory of 7.2 hectares. In 70 years. XX century, the garden was transferred to the management of ISU, many researchers were reduced, so the number of collections has decreased significantly. In difficult times for the whole country (1991-1992), the heating main broke through and more than 60% of the plants that were planted in the greenhouses died.
Collections
To date, the Botanical Garden of the ISU in greenhouses for 1200 square meters. m. there are many plants from different parts of the world. Now the garden is a kind of gene bank of vegetation. About 50.5% of all plants are open ground flora.
The collection includes many regional plant species - 408. About 100 plants listed in the Red Book and not only of the Irkutsk region, but of the entire Russian Federation grow on the territory of the garden.
Exhibitions and fairs are regularly held on the territory, seedlings and seeds are sold. Excursions are held on a regular basis. For organized visits to schoolchildren, the game program includes game elements.
Garden therapy
On the territory of the Botanical Garden of Irkutsk you can do garden therapy. Many will ask what does this mean? And this is a fairly popular trend all over the world. The essence of the process is that trees and plants are used in social adaptation and rehabilitation of the population. Back in 1999, employees were trained at the Chicago Botanical Garden and now use the methodology in Irkutsk. Garden therapy helps in the education of difficult teenagers and orphans, in the rehabilitation of disabled people.
Contact zoo
On the territory of the Botanical Garden of Irkutsk there is a contact zoo. Here you can not only look at the animals that are behind bars, but also chat with them.
The zoo contains more than 30 species of exotic and domestic animals. This horse, hens, cow, rabbits, turtles, guinea pigs, squirrels, raccoon, fox and others. Children are simply delighted with communication with animals, they are happy to cuddle with them, take pictures and feed them. The same can be said of adult visitors. You can feed animals with fruits and vegetables, but they must be cut and washed. As a rule, they bring carrots and apples, for birds - crackers, but without any additives. Naturally, you can’t play with exotic animals.
After talking with animals, children can play in the children's town, which is made in the image of a Russian village. Here you can not only spend time in the sandbox and ride on a swing, but also get water from the well, consider how the mill is arranged inside, and study the principle of its operation.
But after much deliberation, the zoo employees changed their name to "Irkutsk Zoo", with the full preservation of the entire list of services.
Zoo in the Botanical Garden of Irkutsk, opening hours: from 11:00 to 19:00, except Monday. In winter, the zoo is open until 18:00.
Guardianship
Everyone who wants to improve the conditions of the chosen animal can conclude an agreement on charity assistance with the Irkutsk Zoological Garden. Help can be provided in part, you can even take the animal for full upkeep. The program participants are ordinary citizens and enterprises. The guardian, along with the certificate, gets the opportunity to visit the zoo for free, conduct advertising campaigns (by prior agreement with the administration) and, of course, improve the living conditions of the animal or animals he likes.
Location
How to get to the Botanical Garden by public transport? For access to the garden, all public transport routes moving in the direction of the Pervomaisky microdistrict are suitable. These are the trolleybus 7, 7K and 10. Buses No. 24, 2 and 7, minibuses No. 21, 10, 127, and 45.
Residents of the district of Irkutsk can be reached by train to the Melnikovo station.
How to get to the Botanical Garden with your own car? For owners of their own cars, the exact address is: 93, Koltsevaya street, Irkutsk. GPS coordinates: 104.245892 52.262641.
From Tuesday to Saturday, the garden is open to visitors from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. On Sunday - from 9:00 to 15:00 hours. Monday is a day off.