BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. On December 24, a festive celebration for children was organized at the Central Botanical Garden at the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of the IDEA Public Union, Trend reports.
The event, organized by the Baku City Executive Authority, was intended for minors living in dormitories. The program included entertainment, games, and musical performances, and the children received various gifts.
Later, Leyla Aliyeva, together with the children, released 10 squirrels raised at the Baku Zoo into the Central Botanical Garden as part of the IDEA Public Union's "Urban Ecology" project. The project aims to protect and restore fauna species typical of urban environments and previously widespread in the city. Another goal of releasing the squirrels is to allow them to reproduce naturally within the Botanical Garden.
Baku was once home to numerous squirrels and other animals roaming freely among people in parks and green spaces. However, due to environmental challenges at the end of the last century, the numbers of these species plummeted. In recent years, large-scale landscaping and beautification projects undertaken across the country - particularly efforts to reduce illegal deforestation in Baku and plant countless new trees by the IDEA Public Union - have created favorable conditions for the return of many animal species to the city.
