The National Botanical Garden of Ukraine faces losing its tropical and subtropical collection as it struggles to heat greenhouses due to electrical blackouts caused by the bombing of the electrical grid along with funding shortfalls. They have launched the Heat for greenhouses fundraising campaign to raise funds to purchase wood pellets to heat two boilers which are more reliable than the electrical heating system, which is connected to the local electrical grid, but also due to the increased energy costs they cannot afford to operate the electrical heating.
The National Botanical Garden of Ukraine collection has been created over several generations and includes more than 4,000 taxa housed in over 5,000 m2 (50000 sq.ft.). The greenhouses require 800-1,000 wood pallets per winter season to maintain the plant collections in the greenhouses. The National Botanical Garden of Ukraine has a lack of funds as it has been closed since April and is not able to collect visitor fees.
Donations are being requested via bank transfers with the bank details at http://www.nbg.kiev.ua/about_garden/news/detail.php?ID=3073
Image Credit: Flickr User Laila Nav CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication