Dr. Pavel Barsukov (P.B.) currently works as a research fellow at the Department of Soil Science, Agrochemistry, and Arable Farming of the Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry at the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University named after K.I. Skryabin. P.B. is also the principle researcher at the Research and Development Department of the Institute of Chemistry and Phytotechnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Our interest in the nature of Kyrgyzstan has been evident for a long time. As an example, here are some of the following facts. In 1998, P.B. was the organizer and guide of an ecotour through the mountains of the northern Tian Shan, across the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and then around Lake Issyk-Kul. The duration of the ecotour was just over 2 weeks. Most of the participants were German citizens. The co-organizer of the ecotour from the German side was Dr. Klaus Becker from the University of Göttingen.

In 1999, P.B. was the organizer and guide of almost the same ecotour, but with a slightly larger group, whose participants were citizens of Germany, Great Britain, France and Siberia. The co-organizer of the tour was Dipl. Geogr. Dominik Link from Berlin. The photo below shows a group of participants just before the glacier on the ascent to Aksu North Pass, Kuengey Alatau Range, northern part of the Tian Shan Mountains.

In 2001 P.B. organized an ecotour through Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, but with a duration of three weeks. There were also German participants, and the co-organizer of the ecotour from the German side was Sven Rannow. The photo below shows a group of participants on top of the Aksu North Pass, Kuengey Alatau Range.

After a series of ecotours, we began to think about organizing scientific and educational summer schools in Central Asia. In particular, in 2004, P.B. undertook a series of trips to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to meet with local scientists who could help develop the itinerary, content, and program of the summer school, as well as to participate in the scientific support of future summer schools in these countries.

For example, the photo below shows P.B. with the staff of the Faculty of Geography of the Kyrgyz National University named after J. Balasagyn (in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan) in 2004. The one of the left is Dr. Almagul Kendirbaeva, with whom we still collaborate. She is currently the head of the Department of Physical Geography at the same university.

In another photo below, P.B. with the Dean and Senior Lecturer of the Department of Geography at the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek (in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan) in 2004.

Over the past years (from 1995 to 2019), we have assembled an excellent team of natural scientists and teachers, as well as a professional group of cooks and technical assistants capable of working effectively in the field. We have gained extensive experience in West Siberia, the Altai Mountains, and West Mongolia.

A group of summer school participants: from mountain desert to tundra in one trip

In 2022, we made the strategic decision to transfer our comprehensive and positive expertise in organizing and managing scientific and educational summer schools to Kyrgyzstan. Since that time, during the period of 2023-2025, the core of the Siberian team, in close cooperation with interested local residents, has successfully organized three summer schools and two expeditions.

C. Siewert, P. Barsukov, S. Demyan, A. Babenko, N. Lashchinsky & E. Smolentseva (2014) Teaching soil science and ecology in West Siberia: 17 years of field courses // Environmental Education Research, 20:6, 858-879. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2013.839778.
Link to this article: click here
Full article is available here

P. Barsukov (2021) Integrated ecological education in the annual field courses to West Siberia // BIO Web of Conferences 38, 00010: Northern Asia Plant Diversity. DOI: 10.1051/bioconf/20213800010.
Link to this article: click here 
Full article is available here

P. Barsukov (2021) Integrated ecological education in the annual field courses to West Siberia // Poster report
Link to the poster report: click here 
The poster report is available here