Kamiana Hirka is a small forest nature reserve with an area of 5.8 hectares near the village of Chervonka in the Ovruch region, within the Kovanske forestry district. It was created in 1984 to preserve a phenomenon rare for Polissia — a grove of relict sessile oak on the foothills of the Slovechano-Ovruch Ridge.
Red Stone Hill
Kamiana Hirka is an oval hill about 20 meters high, composed of red quartzites of the Ovruch series. At the base, the soils are still thick, but higher up they become thin and gravelly, and at the summit, the quartzite crops out directly to the surface.
The sessile oak grows here — a sub-Mediterranean species whose nearest continuous range lies 250 km to the west and 300 km to the south. Kamiana Hirka is one of the northernmost places where it is found. The oaks here are low, spreading, with twisted trunks, and their roots cling to cracks in the stone and partially lie directly on the surface.
From Pine Forest to Oak Grove
Climbing the slope is like passing through several forests. At the base on the northern side is a typical Polissia pine forest with blueberries, lingonberries, and a solid carpet of mosses. Higher up, oak appears, and higher still — an oak forest with bracken and bilberry, where the sessile oak is already encountered. The vegetation depends on how steep the slope is and which direction it faces.
Tip
The reserve is small, so the visit will take an hour. Combine it with a walk through the ravines of the Slovechano-Ovruch Ridge. Do not break branches and do not light fires: rocky slopes with thin soil recover very slowly.
How to Get There
Chervonka lies in the western part of the ridge; it is most convenient to drive west from Ovruch. Read more about these parts in the articles about the Slovechano-Ovruch Ridge and Korosten Raion.
