DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids installs a protective nesting platform for storks in the Fastiv district
DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids installed an artificial platform to secure a stork nest in the village of Velyka Ofirna, Fastiv district. This year, 56 stork nesting platforms were installed across the Kyiv region. Such installation is part of the #EnergyWings large-scale environmental education project, which was launched by DTEK Grids in 2021. Its main goal is to help preserve the white stork population in Ukraine and draw public attention to the problem of biodiversity loss and the environment protection.
Purpose-designed metal structures protect stork nests from slipping on power lines, thus reducing risks of power cuts due to such incidents. The platform is a sturdy basket made of metal rods. It lifts the nest above the power line to a height of more than a meter and can withstand the weight of both the nest and the birds. Thus, heavy nests, sometimes weighing up to 500 kg, do not slip onto the wires. Birds are protected from electric shock, and lines are protected from short circuits and blackouts.
As a local resident Lyudmila said, a family of storks settled in the Velyka Ofirna village long time ago. However, last year, during a hurricane, a birch tree damaged a stork's nest. One of the chicks died. The birds circled over the nest for quite some time and settled nearby. They chose a power line pole. And this is unsafe for both birds and energy facilities. The company's energy workers moved the nest to a purpose-built structure and secured it on a pole.
“DTEK is transforming its business in accordance with the New Strategy 2030, based on ESG principles, values and business responsibility for progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Global Compact. The new platform in the village of Velyka Ofirna is another step towards biodiversity conservation. This year, within the #EnergyWings project, we installed 56 stork nesting platforms. According to ecologists, this initiative will save almost 700 birds, 400 of which are chicks, in two years,” said Vitaliy Shaida, Head of DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids.
White storks are listed in the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and are considered to be close to extinction. Through projects such as #EnergyWings, the company preserves the population of these birds and draws public attention to the problem of biodiversity loss and the need to protect our environment.
Beside stork platforms, within the ornithological safety program, DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids installed artificial nests for the long-eared owl and scoop in the Alexandria Dendrological Park of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region.
A short video of how a stork nesting platform is being installed in Velyka Ofirna can be found here.
Please, see our short video of how wooden houses for long-eared owls and scoops nesting are installed in the Alexandria Dendrological Park of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.