EDUCATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION UNDER WAR CONDITIONS: THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUAL VISITOR CENTRES (A CASE STUDY OF NATIONAL NATURE PARKS OF THE KHERSON REGION)

Abstract

The article substantiates the concept of virtual visitor centres as an effective tool for ensuring environmental protection and educational communication under conditions of war-related restrictions and limited safe access to the territories of the Nature Reserve Fund of the Kherson region. The study is based on the analysis of the current condition of protected areas within the region, the peculiarities of the functioning of Nature Reserve Fund institutions in the pre-war and contemporary periods, as well as on the generalization of Ukrainian and international experience in the digitalization of the environmental protection sphere. It was established that a significant number of national nature parks and biosphere reserves of the Kherson region have lost the possibility of full-scale functioning due to military actions, temporary occupation, and security restrictions. This has considerably limited the implementation of environmental protection, recreational, scientific, educational, and outreach activities. In this context, virtual visitor centres are considered as integrated digital platforms capable of ensuring continuous access to natural, educational, informational, scientific, and multimedia resources of protected areas regardless of physical accessibility to their territories. The paper defines the essence and structural-functional features of virtual visitor centres and proposes a model that includes informational, educational, communication, multimedia, recreational-service, and scientific-outreach components. Particular attention is paid to the educational potential of virtual visitorcentres within the system of natural and geographical education. The main directions of their application for school pupils, university students, local communities, internally displaced persons, and other social groups are identified. It is substantiated that the implementation of virtual visitor-centres will contribute to preserving the connection between society and the natural heritage of the region, promoting environmental awareness and natural sciences, expanding opportunities for distance learning and environmental education, supporting public outreach activities, and maintaining the functionality of Nature Reserve Fund institutions under conditions of military risks and long-term restrictions on access to protected territories.