#EnergyWings: DTEK Donetsk Grids installed a stork nest platform in the village of Mayaki
DTEK Donetsk Grids installed an artificial platform to protect the stork nest from collapse in the village of Mayaki, Kramatorsk district. Such platforms are part of a large-scale environmental educational project #EnergyWings, launched by DTEK Grids in 2021. Purpose-built metal structures protect stork nests from slipping onto the power line and minimize the risks of power outages because of such incidents.
The platform is a strong basket made of metal rods. It lifts the nest above the power line to a height of more than a meter and can support 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 shutdowns.
“Biodiversity conservation is one of the important focus areas of our company, which is in line with the DTEK 2030 strategy based on ESG principles, values and business responsibility for progress in achieving the sustainable development goals of the UN Global Compact. Since 2015, we have been installing metal stork nest platforms every year, which allow us to preserve the bird population in our region and avoid power outages. Now, 16 such structures have been installed. According to ecologists, thanks to such an initiative, DTEK Donetsk Grids saved about 200 white storks over 5 years, 120 of which are chicks,” says Oleksii Dehtyarev, General Director for DTEK Donetsk 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 the projects such as #EnergyWings, the company helps preserve the population of these birds and draws public attention to the problem of biodiversity loss and the need to protect the environment.
In addition to stork platforms, DTEK Donetsk Grids is installing wooden houses for the falcon nesting in the Meotida National Nature Park within the ornithological safety program. The company also installs bird protection devices on power lines - casings that cover the side sections of wires. By the end of 2021, the number of bird protection devices, including those installed on the territory of the Meotida National Natural Park in the Azov Sea, will reach 1,590.
A short video of how a stork nest platform is being installed in the village of Mayaki can be found here.
See our short video of how wooden houses for the falcon nesting are installed in the Meotida National Park.