June 15, 2013, Poltava — Over 15 active amateur cyclists went on an environmental excursion to the Poltava Arboretum. The event was organized by two NGOs, MAMA-86-Poltava and VeloPoltava, under the projects "The Green Territories of the Poltava Region" and "Travel the Poltava Region."

The participants, who included children, learned about main natural monuments of the arboretum, its history, current problems, and development prospects. They considered environmental aspects of recreation in green zones – rules of conduct, litter disposal, proper picnic place arrangement, etc.

By the end of the excursion, the cycling activists discussed the role of green territories in the life of urban residents and existing threats to green zones. Among such threats, the participants named not only litter, fishing, pond silting, and visitors' carelessness. They also mentioned political factors, namely the new procedure for defining and changing the intended purpose of land plots, laid down by Law #5395-VI of Oct. 2, 2012, which they think is dangerous for natural reserve lands.

The event participants decided to make environmental cycling excursions to the Poltava region's green zones a tradition and in every way draw attention of local people and authorities to the issue of green zones conservation and development.