In memoriam – Степан Стойко
On October 22 of this year, professor Stepan Stoyko – a prominent Ukrainian scientist and nature conservationist, died at the age of 100. Until his last days, he had a clear mind, was active in nature conservation, and continued working on academic publications. His last research article was publish...
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M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the NAS of Ukraine
2020
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| author | Bedernichek, Tymur |
| author_facet | Bedernichek, Tymur |
| author_sort | Bedernichek, Tymur |
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| description | On October 22 of this year, professor Stepan Stoyko – a prominent Ukrainian scientist and nature conservationist, died at the age of 100. Until his last days, he had a clear mind, was active in nature conservation, and continued working on academic publications. His last research article was published in September 2020, approximately one month before his death. For decades he was a principal investigator and head of a department in the State Museum of Natural History and the Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians. Stepan Stoyko created many protected areas, including the Carpathian State Reserve (Carpathian Biosphere Reserve), Roztochya Nature Reserve, and Carpathian, Yavorivskyi, Shatsky, Uzhansky, Skole Beskids, and Synevyr national nature parks. After the catastrophic floods in Transcarpathia in 1998, and 2001, he brought attention to clear-cutting, including the Carpathian forests’ illegal cutting. In his late 90s, Stepan Stoyko supported the initiative group Free Svydovets that protected one of the most important biodiversity islands in the Ukrainian Carpathians – Svydovets mountain range. His support was crucial to prevent building the largest Carpathian ski resort and conserve unique mountain old-growth forests, sub-alpine, and alpine grasslands. I knew Stepan Stoyko for over 20 years since I was 15 years old. Here I would like to share my perspective on his contribution to nature conservation and environmental science. To commemorate his scientific life and contributions, the Ukrainian community of botanists and ecologists Dovkolabotanika established Stepan Stoyko Award in the fields of nature conservation and environmental science for undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students. |
| doi_str_mv | 10.46341/PI2020041 |
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© The Authors. This content is provided under CC BY 4.0 license.
Plant Introduction, 87/88, 122–125 (2020)
CHRONICLE
In memoriam – Stepan Stoyko
The early years
Stepan Stoyko was born on March 14, 1920,
in Krychovo village, Czechoslovakia (today in
Transcarpathia, Ukraine). From 1930 to 1938,
he studied in Khust Gymnasium, the classical
gymnasium (secondary school) focused
on natural sciences, foreign languages,
and theology. He learned Czech, Slovak,
Hungarian, Russian, German, and Polish
languages. Stepan Stoyko also had an in-depth
knowledge of Latin language and literature
and his favorite book during that time was
“De rerum natura” by Titus Lucretius Carus.
The II World War interrupted his education
and civil life in general. He managed to study
only three semesters at the University of Pécs
during 1942-1943. During the war and right
after it, his knowledge of foreign languages
saved his life – there were very few translators
who knew so many languages, and their lives
mattered. After the war, Stepan Stoyko moved
to Lviv. He became a student of the Forestry
Faculty of Lviv Polytechnic Institute, which
was reorganized into the Lviv Agricultural
Institute. After graduation, Stepan Stoyko was
appointed as a forest engineer to the Uzhhorod
forest enterprise, where he worked until 1951.
Tymur Bedernichek
M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Tymiryazevska str. 1, 01014 Kyiv, Ukraine;
bedernichek@gmail.com
Received: 28.12.2020 | Accepted: 28.12.2020 | Published: 30.12.2020
Abstract
On October 22 of this year, professor Stepan Stoyko – a prominent Ukrainian scientist and nature
conservationist, died at the age of 100. Until his last days, he had a clear mind, was active in nature
conservation, and continued working on academic publications. His last research article was published
in September 2020, approximately one month before his death. For decades he was a principal
investigator and head of a department in the State Museum of Natural History and the Institute of
Ecology of the Carpathians. Stepan Stoyko created many protected areas, including the Carpathian
State Reserve (Carpathian Biosphere Reserve), Roztochya Nature Reserve, and Carpathian, Yavorivskyi,
Shatsky, Uzhansky, Skole Beskids, and Synevyr national nature parks. After the catastrophic floods in
Transcarpathia in 1998, and 2001, he brought attention to clear-cutting, including the Carpathian
forests’ illegal cutting. In his late 90s, Stepan Stoyko supported the initiative group Free Svydovets that
protected one of the most important biodiversity islands in the Ukrainian Carpathians – Svydovets
mountain range. His support was crucial to prevent building the largest Carpathian ski resort and
conserve unique mountain old-growth forests, sub-alpine, and alpine grasslands. I knew Stepan
Stoyko for over 20 years since I was 15 years old. Here I would like to share my perspective on his
contribution to nature conservation and environmental science. To commemorate his scientific life
and contributions, the Ukrainian community of botanists and ecologists Dovkolabotanika established
Stepan Stoyko Award in the fields of nature conservation and environmental science for undergraduate,
graduate, and PhD students.
Keywords: Stepan Stoyko, Carpathians, nature conservation, Stepan Stoyko Award
https://doi.org/10.46341/PI2020041
UDC 57
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2954-0118
Plant Introduction • 87/88 123
In memoriam – Stepan Stoyko
Academic career. Uzhhorod – Kyiv – Lviv
In 1951 the prominent Ukrainian forest
scientist Professor Petro Pohrebnyak visited
Transcarpathia. Stepan Stoyko guided him
through the local forests and showed him the
most typical, as well as the most interesting
parts of them. Petro Pohrebnyak invited him
to become his PhD student, and Stepan Stoyko
agreed. He moved to Kyiv in 1952 and in 1955
defended his PhD in the field of botany on the
oak forests of the Transcarpathia. He returned
to Lviv and worked in Lviv Forestry Institute
until 1964 and then in the State Museum
of Natural History. In 1969 he completed
habilitation, and in 1970 Prof. Dr. habil. Stepan
Stoyko founded the department of natural
ecosystems’ conservation in the Museum.
This fact is important for the understanding
of his attitude to nature conservation. He
always was thinking big, and 50 years ago,
he clearly understood that it is impossible to
protect species or communities in destroyed
or severely damaged habitats. In the Museum
and then in the Institute of Ecology of the
Carpathians he worked on creating new
protected areas to conserve as much of the
most valuable ecosystems as possible. He
created many protected areas, including the
Carpathian State Reserve (later, Carpathian
Biosphere Reserve), Roztochya Nature
Reserve, and Carpathian, Yavorivskyi, Shatsky,
Uzhansky, Skole Beskids, and Synevyr national
nature parks.
Meanwhile, he continued publishing
academic papers and books on nature
conservation and environmental science,
with special attention given to conservation
of the plant communities and elevational
changes of plant communities. He also
published a number of popular books
about nature in general, plants, and natural
monuments. He considered that the best
way to conserve something unique is to
explain that it is unique to others. He often
said that when only several specialists know
the object’s value or the phenomenon – it
is in danger. If something has no value to
the majority – it may be easily destroyed.
He explained that most of people would
not burn money in a stove because they
understand the value of money. Hence,
nature conservationists’ mission is to explain
the value of natural ecosystems and that
they are much more valuable than money.
Being a polyglot, Stepan Stoyko translated
many important publications from other
languages to Ukrainian and Russian,
participated in numerous international
conferences, and had good friends and
colleagues abroad. For example, working
together with such famous Czech botanists
as Prof. Alois Zlatník and Dr. habil. Miloš Deyl
provided him the opportunity to stay in the
context of current European science and
avoid isolation. Moreover, he managed to
continue some studies of the Czech scientists
Screenshot from the Vyacheslav Bihun documentary “Mnohaya lita. Stoyko” (2020)
124 Plant Introduction • 87/88
T. Bedernichek
and protect most of the reserves previously
described by Alois Zlatník.
Ideas of Stepan Stoyko and his research led
to publishing the Green Book of Ukrainian SSR
– the first document that protected not just
the species, but the whole communities. After
two catastrophic floods in Transcarpathia
in 1998 and 2001, Stepan Stoyko brought
attention to the problem of clear-cuts in
mountain forests and in particular illegal
logging. His efforts managed to decrease the
scale of logging in the Carpathians after the
floods.
Professor emeritus
When I met Stepan Stoyko – he was already
professor emeritus. He was 80 years old and
had several courses on nature conservation
at the Geography Faculty of the Ivan Franko
National University of Lviv. I am highly
grateful to Prof. Semen Kukurudza, who got
me acquainted with Prof. Stepan Stoyko.
I have already read several of his books,
and the moment of meeting the author was
exciting. Since then, we have met regularly
and spoke a lot. Stepan Stoyko was actively
involved in nature conservation, traveled
a lot, and published a number of papers,
where he summarized his attitude to
nature conservation, highlighted the most
challenging issues, and shared his opinion on
how to address them.
In his late 90s, Stepan Stoyko said that he
performed a transition from Homo sapiens
to Homo domesticus, because he stayed at
home much more than he used to. However,
as he said, that was an excellent occasion
to improve his English because he did not
feel confident enough in it. He remained
very active and, in particular, supported
the initiative group Free Svydovets that
protected one of the most important
biodiversity islands in the Ukrainian
Carpathians – Svydovets mountain range. His
support was crucial to prevent building the
largest Carpathian ski resort and conserve
unique mountain old-growth forests, sub-
alpine, and alpine grasslands. That is how
many of my colleagues, and I remember him.
Wise, enthusiastic, and empathic. He was
an environmental superhero who worked
tirelessly to conserve and protect nature.
He was learning every single day, was doing
knee push-ups and partial pull-ups to stay
fit, used a laptop and Internet in 100 years.
To commemorate his scientific life and
contributions, the Ukrainian community of
botanists and ecologists Dovkolabotanika
established Stepan Stoyko Award in the fields
of nature conservation and environmental
science for undergraduate, graduate and PhD
students.
Screenshot from the Vyacheslav Bihun documentary “Mnohaya lita. Stoyko” (2020)
Plant Introduction • 87/88 125
In memoriam – Stepan Stoyko
In memoriam – Степан Стойко
Тимур Бедернічек
Національний ботанічний сад імені М.М. Гришка НАН України, вул. Тимірязєвська, 1, Київ, 01014,
Україна; bedernichek@gmail.com
22 жовтня цього року, у віці 100 років, помер професор Степан Стойко – видатний український
науковець і природоохоронець. До останніх днів він зберіг ясний розум, активно займався
природоохоронною роботою, продовжував працювати над науковими публікаціями. Свою останню
наукову статтю він опублікував у вересні 2020 року, буквально за місяць до смерті. Упродовж десятків
років він працював головним науковим співробітником та завідувачем відділу у Державному
природознавчому музеї НАН України та Інституті екології Карпат НАН України. Степан Стойко
обґрунтував створення багатьох природоохоронних територій, серед яких Карпатський державний
заповідник (згодом Карпатський біосферний заповідник), природний заповідник Розточчя та
численні національні природні парки: Карпатський, Щацький, Ужанський, Сколівські Бескиди і
Синевир. Після катастрофічних паводків на Закарпатті 1998 та 2001 років, Степан Стойко звернув
увагу на проблему суцільних вирубок у лісах Карпат, зокрема незаконних. Маючи понад 90 років
він підтримав ініціативну групу “Free Svydovets”, яка захищала важливий осередок біорізноманіття
в Українських Карпатах – Свидовецький гірський масив. Його підтримка була вкрай важливою і
допомогла запобігти будівництву найбільшого у Карпатах гірськолижного курорту, а також зберегти
приполонинні старовікові ліси, субальпійські та альпійські луки. Я був знайомий із Степаном
Стойком понад 20 років, з того часу як мені виповнилось 15. У цій публікації я хочу поділитись
власним баченням щодо його внеску в охорону природи та екологію. З метою вшанування світлої
пам’яті Степана Стойка та належної оцінки його наукових здобутків українська спільнота ботаніків
та екологів “Довколаботаніка” започаткувала Премію Степана Стойка для студентів та аспірантів, які
виконують дослідження у галузі охорони довкілля або екології.
Ключові слова: Степан Стойко, Карпати, охорона природи, Премія Степана Стойка
|
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| institution | Plant Introduction |
| keywords_txt_mv | keywords |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-07-17T12:53:53Z |
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| spelling | oai:ojs2.plantintroduction.org:article-15822023-08-26T20:39:33Z In memoriam – Stepan Stoyko In memoriam – Степан Стойко Bedernichek, Tymur On October 22 of this year, professor Stepan Stoyko – a prominent Ukrainian scientist and nature conservationist, died at the age of 100. Until his last days, he had a clear mind, was active in nature conservation, and continued working on academic publications. His last research article was published in September 2020, approximately one month before his death. For decades he was a principal investigator and head of a department in the State Museum of Natural History and the Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians. Stepan Stoyko created many protected areas, including the Carpathian State Reserve (Carpathian Biosphere Reserve), Roztochya Nature Reserve, and Carpathian, Yavorivskyi, Shatsky, Uzhansky, Skole Beskids, and Synevyr national nature parks. After the catastrophic floods in Transcarpathia in 1998, and 2001, he brought attention to clear-cutting, including the Carpathian forests’ illegal cutting. In his late 90s, Stepan Stoyko supported the initiative group Free Svydovets that protected one of the most important biodiversity islands in the Ukrainian Carpathians – Svydovets mountain range. His support was crucial to prevent building the largest Carpathian ski resort and conserve unique mountain old-growth forests, sub-alpine, and alpine grasslands. I knew Stepan Stoyko for over 20 years since I was 15 years old. Here I would like to share my perspective on his contribution to nature conservation and environmental science. To commemorate his scientific life and contributions, the Ukrainian community of botanists and ecologists Dovkolabotanika established Stepan Stoyko Award in the fields of nature conservation and environmental science for undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students. 22 жовтня цього року, у віці 100 років, помер професор Степан Стойко – видатний український науковець і природоохоронець. До останніх днів він зберіг ясний розум, активно займався природоохоронною роботою, продовжував працювати над науковими публікаціями. Свою останню наукову статтю він опублікував у вересні 2020 року, буквально за місяць до смерті. Упродовж десятків років він працював головним науковим співробітником та завідувачем відділу у Державному природознавчому музеї НАН України та Інституті екології Карпат НАН України. Степан Стойко обґрунтував створення багатьох природоохоронних територій, серед яких Карпатський державний заповідник (згодом Карпатський біосферний заповідник), природний заповідник Розточчя та численні національні природні парки: Карпатський, Щацький, Ужанський, Сколівські Бескиди і Синевир. Після катастрофічних паводків на Закарпатті 1998 та 2001 років, Степан Стойко звернув увагу на проблему суцільних вирубок у лісах Карпат, зокрема незаконних. Маючи понад 90 років він підтримав ініціативну групу “Free Svydovets”, яка захищала важливий осередок біорізноманіття в Українських Карпатах – Свидовецький гірський масив. Його підтримка була вкрай важливою і допомогла запобігти будівництву найбільшого у Карпатах гірськолижного курорту, а також зберегти приполонинні старовікові ліси, субальпійські та альпійські луки. Я був знайомий із Степаном Стойком понад 20 років, з того часу як мені виповнилось 15. У цій публікації я хочу поділитись власним баченням щодо його внеску в охорону природи та екологію. З метою вшанування світлої пам’яті Степана Стойка та належної оцінки його наукових здобутків українська спільнота ботаніків та екологів “Довколаботаніка” започаткувала Премію Степана Стойка для студентів та аспірантів, які виконують дослідження у галузі охорони довкілля або екології. M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the NAS of Ukraine 2020-12-30 Article Article application/pdf https://www.plantintroduction.org/index.php/pi/article/view/1582 10.46341/PI2020041 Plant Introduction; No 87/88 (2020); 122-125 Інтродукція Рослин; № 87/88 (2020); 122-125 2663-290X 1605-6574 10.46341/PI87-88 en https://www.plantintroduction.org/index.php/pi/article/view/1582/1508 Copyright (c) 2020 Tymur Bedernichek http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| spellingShingle | Bedernichek, Tymur In memoriam – Степан Стойко |
| title | In memoriam – Степан Стойко |
| title_alt | In memoriam – Stepan Stoyko |
| title_full | In memoriam – Степан Стойко |
| title_fullStr | In memoriam – Степан Стойко |
| title_full_unstemmed | In memoriam – Степан Стойко |
| title_short | In memoriam – Степан Стойко |
| title_sort | in memoriam – степан стойко |
| url | https://www.plantintroduction.org/index.php/pi/article/view/1582 |
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