Nataliya Stryamets

Victory gardens in wartime Ukraine: community responses to food system disruptions through local food production

Introduction Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 caused uncertainty and concerns about disrupted food systems, creating new challenges for food security while simultaneously stimulating grassroots responses. Among these, Victory Gardens re-emerged as community-led ini...

Greening in turbulent times: insights into civic ecology practices across Ukraine

Abstract Armed conflicts generate profound disruptions to social and ecological systems, weakening institutions, degrading ecosystems, and undermining community resilience. Yet less is known about how grassroots environmental stewardship persists under prolonged crisis conditions...

Autumn edible mushrooms’ euphoria in Dzūkija, SE Lithuania: lessons to learn for an ethnobiology of situated and resilient forest practices

Dzūkija is the most heavily forested region of Lithuania, and foragers and ethnographers alike describe it as the country’s epicentre of mushroom enthusiasm. We interviewed 34 foragers there in October 2025 (20 women, 14 men; mean age 56 years) to ask why gathering fungi in this...