Elmar, the “ranger” of the Curonian Spit dunes, on cormorants, spiders in August and ants that need to be “removed” from the car | Lifetime

From September to June, E. Duderis teaches at various Biržai schools and spends his summers here at Curonian Spit. At the Biržai Saulė gym, E. Duderis works as a photography teacher, and at the Aušra Basic School he leads groups of naturalists and explorers.

From what I can think of, he says he is first a naturalist, and only then, a teacher and ranger.

A word everyone understands

“Why a ranger? Because this activity of ours has no Lithuanian equivalent. So we call ourselves rangers. Such a translation from English, and the name is understood by all.

And the duties are more specifically the maintenance of the territories. My colleagues and I supervise the natural part of the Curonian Spit.

I record the violations, hand them over to the professionals and they decide what to do. Most people are cautioned to act accordingly. There are very few that are evil. Almost everyone apologizes and says that we did not know that we had not met. Then they become our helpers, warning others how to behave.

There was such a conflict a few years ago. Then I had to call the police and identify the criminal. A photo was taken with a mobile phone (work certificate). Did the police officers ask me if I would write a statement of insult? I say that I did not come to walk on the fields. That is the end of it. That person then wrote to me on Facebook. He said he realized this was our job and wished him success. “

***

Curonian Spit National Park is a protected area that includes the Lithuanian part of the Curonian Spit along with the coast of the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea. The entire Curonian Spit is a peninsula 98 km long, the southern part of which belongs to the Russian Federation.

The National Park on the Lithuanian side was established in 1991.

2000 December 2 The Curonian Spit, as a common object of the two states, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Information of Curonian Spit National Park

Cormorants that drop fish like bombs

Elmar’s car, with which we are talking, stops near the pier, next to the lagoon. We will go see cormorants. Unloved fishermen but incredibly beautiful birds.

“I have done several investigations in Nida for a long time. In winter, we evaluated and carried out surveys of wintering birds on the coast. I also had to work in a cormorant colony.

Why cormorants? To determine how many nests they occupied, how many children hatch. In my opinion, as a naturalist, they don’t hurt. Because, however, they are part of nature. After all, naturally in nature, there are no weeds or pests.

Only when it is touches man, then weeds and pests appear. This is not the case in nature, it all depends on the ecological balance. Cormorants in this case, too.

In defense, cormorants intimidate, devour undigested fish, and drop like bombs.

In their defense, cormorants intimidate, devour undigested fish, and drop like bombs to drive unsolicited guests out of their colony. From what I noticed, these were mainly roaches and ground squirrels, an invasive species.

They are born in the forest and feed on bodies of water. Maybe it’s good to have them? Catch those invading fish.

As a teacher he became the keeper of the dunes.

Elmar visited Nida for the first time as a child. Then, he smiles, it wasn’t as if he took over and fell in love with this land. Or that Nida would like it very much. But then the Curonian Spit in your life simply it fell.

“I have a degree in ecology. I am also a teacher because I have a degree and I can work. But even the teacher’s activities are more related to nature, I still photograph nature.

Four years ago, I found an ad here (on the Curonian Spit) you need to help protect nature, and I had no questions. If I accept, if I believe, then I will work here. This is how I have been coming for four years.

Perhaps not only because it is a resort here, but I want to protect nature. After all, this is a UNESCO protected area. The diversity of flora and fauna is quite different than on the mainland. Moose and stretch marks, of course, are the same. But there are species of insects, plants. I want to save those things for the future. “

***

South of the Parnidis dune there is a view of the floating dunes in the Grobštas nature reserve, and with good visibility you can also see the sand dunes on the Russian side.

Scientists estimate that due to prevailing winds from the west, these traveling dunes move 0.5 to 10 m east per year.

Windblown sand travels on the spit in grooves of rubble sand until it gets stuck behind the plant. In places where no one visits, the surface of the dunes resembles the seabed. These swollen dunes are also called white dunes, the light hue of the saliva being given by quartz, which is 85 to 99 percent here.

Large bell plants grow in sandy areas: sandy sandy, sandy ryegrass, larch sandstone. The most delicate plants can also live in the refuge created by these strong bell plants: the umbrella falcon, the Baltic flounder, the Baltic flax, the sea pea.

The protection of the highly sensitive and vulnerable habitat of the white dunes regulates the flow of visitors and separates certain areas that are strictly prohibited from visiting.

http://visitneringa.com inf.

The sea no longer feeds the dunes.

The Curonian Spit has its own magic and certainty. “I am not saying that people behave maliciously, mainly out of ignorance. Sometimes they go up in the dunes. They want to see a lot and very soon. Do not think you need protection, do not know the rules, do not know that there are protected species. After everything, they come to see. But to climb the dunes, these are isolated cases.

Scientists are conducting research, and according to the height of the dunes, they are no longer feeding on the sea today. There are those who are, they do not get sand from the sea. We need to preserve what is.

The dunes are maintained, they come with equipment. Here there is diversity of species, the ecological balance must be maintained so that it does not grow in the forest. Therefore, they need to be weeded. It may be weird, but in the fall, our employees jog the dunes and volunteers come. Rauna small newly sprouted pines so that the dunes do not grow with pines. If you leave it like that, it will grow in the forest and crumble.

But our job is not only to preserve the dunes, but all of nature. We generally agree that we work until 10 p.m. And sometimes it takes longer to work. If there is a violation, you will not stop working because your work hours have ended. You will not say to a person: My work is done and I will not tell you what has been violated, how it has been violated and what should be done.

It happens that people create junk. Here at Curonian Spit it is almost impossible to create bonfires. Only in places where there are fireplaces. There is information on how to behave, the rules. A phone number has been written to call the fire department and notify them that a junk will be created.

The fire monitoring system is working, and if you don’t report that a scrap metal is being created, firefighters can dispatch forces when they notice the smoke. Then there will be a wrong, meaningless exit. And when they call and report, firefighters know there is no need to react. “

***

The Curonian Spit already had a painful experience. In the spring of 2014, a fire in the Curonian Spit caused more than 46 million. Damage stones.

The damage of burned mountain pines has been estimated at 45 million. The future costs of ordering the bonfire were estimated at LTL 1.11 million. LTL, 36.4 thousand. 23,500 LTL were sown by the forest fire itself. LTL estimated the costs of forest restoration.

The total area of ​​burned forest is 117.6 hectares. In total, the forests of the Curonian Spit National Park cover 8.1 thousand ha. hectares

Fear of spiders: do not go to the forest in August

Elmar could say a lot about nature. “You have to work in nature not to forget some things. For example, the voices of birds must be repeated, especially the rarest. Because forget it.

This advantage is unique. Very interesting sand dunes, unusual for us. Taken from the sea.

That air is so clean here. Even though cars drive, there is not much pollution. Nature is important to everyone, we are part of nature, without it we cannot exist.

Looking at diversity here, you could identify spiders and ants. For those who are afraid of spiders, it would be difficult to go to the forest. There is an abundance of spiders and various species of them, most of which occur in August.

While sitting in the car, all the ants must be removed because they will take you somewhere and then will not find a home.

There is also a wide variety of mosquitoes and mosquitoes. Food for them enough, many of them. Many ants For example, in some places in the forest they cannot even stop, they just attack. While sitting in the car, all the ants must be removed because they will take you somewhere and then will not find a home. Even if one of the ants doesn’t want them to take it out, we try to get it out so they don’t ride together. “

“I will come back here again”

“But if you, a teacher who works here in the summer, would you work without holidays all year?”

– It probably is. But when I like work … We have days off and I go to sea. I would never think about it.

– Listening to you, you understand very clearly that your relationship with nature is not of the consumer. It is different, maybe I would even say special.

– We all take something from nature. Everyone something users. But you try to live with nature. Especially here, because there is such an area here.

– When will your work at the Curonian Spit end?

– August 31. But I know I will want to come back here again.