• Home • About Fund  • Partners • Contact Info • Fund's Programs
 

News, December 2013

Summarizing the results of the Green School Project implemented in September-December 2013 by the Fund for Sustainable Development with support from ExxonMobil Russia, Inc.

On December 20, 2013, at the Soil Sciences Museum of Moscow State University, the activists of the Green School Project (implemented by the Fund for Sustainable Development from September through December 2013 in seven Moscow schools with financial support from ExxonMobil Russia Inc.) were awarded prizes.

The goal of this project was to teach schoolchildren positive attitudes to the natural environment and resources and foster environmental thinking among the younger generation based on an understanding of the importance of strategic approaches to environmental protection.

The students and teachers of seven Moscow schools were the partners of the project:

School # 222 (Moscow, North Administrative District,)

School # 1547 (Moscow, South-East Administrative District)

School # 1985 (Kurkino)

School in Opalikha

School # 98 (Strogino)

School # 1060 (Moscow, Central Administrative District)

Lyceum # 1576 (Koptevo)

The 4,250 students of these partner schools have received information about the Green School Project.

The project concept and its practical implementation was highly appraised and supported by the Moscow City Department for Nature Management and the Department for Education (Supplement 1) (http://fund-sd.ru/exxon-2013/index.htm).

The project consisted of 2 phases:

Phase 1: A series of thematic webinars (distance seminars) intended for 7-11th grade students from partner schools in Moscow was carried out on the following topics:

Energy saving at home and in school

Water resources saving practices

Reduction of the amount of solid waste at home and in school

The basics of creating video spots on environmental subjects

Phyto design in the classroom and in school

Schoolyard landscaping

Development of socially environmental school projects

A total of 180 students took part in these webinars.

Phase 2: Contest of environmental video spots “My Sparing Attitude to the Environment” devoted to household resource-saving practices. The schoolchildren created educational video materials for elementary school students on the subject “The Voyage of a Drop of Oil”. The contest collected 9 video pieces and 5 presentations.

The recordings of the webinars and video spots may be viewed at FSD website (http://www.fund-sd.ru/exxon-2013/videos.htm).

early 50 students and teachers attended the prize-awarding ceremony of the contest of video spots. The same day, almost 40 children visited the Soil Sciences Museum of Moscow State University that offered them, free of charge, a chance to become acquainted with the body of knowledge collected by several generations of soil scientists, biologist, geologists and geographers from all over the world.

At the end of the visit to the museum, its deputy director Lyudmila Popova spoke to the students. She expressed her conviction that they will remember the visit that will prompt them to join new useful environmental projects and programs.

FSD executive director Oleg Fokin thanked the students and teachers for their creative effort: “Thanks to you, this project turned out to be truly interesting, fascinating and educational. We believe that you will help us to extend it not only to schools in Moscow, but in other regions of the country as well.”

Svetlana Zaslavskaya, Advisor, Public Affairs and Community Relations, ExxonMobil, congratulated the students on the completion of their project activities and suggested that they not only go on with their advanced study of environmental subjects, but master technical and engineering professions that are so needed by the country. She stressed that environmentally competent engineers were the ones to search for alternative energy resources and devise new methods of secure production and managenebt of resources for the good of humanity.

Marina Rykhlikova, member of the jury and staff members of the Environmental Soil Sciences Institute at Moscow State University, summarized the results of the contest of environmental spots “My Sparing Attitude to the Environment”. The seven nominees of the contest were awarded diplomas and prizes from the Fund for Sustainable Development and ExxonMobil Russia Inc.

Elena Bondarchuk, coordinator of the Green School Project from FSD proceeded with the awarding: 54 students received certificates of appreciation and 17 teachers, moderators and members of the jury received Letters of Gratitude. Each partner school was given an encyclopedia “Rivers and Lakes of the World” and a Letter of Gratitude.

The project has been completed and its participants are ready to go on with their work: to share their practices of resources saving at home and in school with other schools of the city and country, environmental centers and movements that understand that the development of our civilization must be sustainable. Businesses and NGOs are ready to assist them through their social partnerships aimed at supporting environmental education of the younger generation of Russia.

Svetlana Zaslavskaya and Oleg Fokin award prizes to young environmentalists

The students in ExxonMobil Russia Inc. prizes

In September-December, 2013 the Fund for Sustainable Development jointly with 7 partner schools in Moscow completed the environmental public education project Green School that was developed by FSD with financial support from Exxon Mobile Russia Inc.

The partners of the project: School # 89 (Strogino), School # 1985 (Kurkino), School # 1060 (Central Administrative District), School # 222 (North Administrative District), Lyceum # 1547 (South-East Administrative District), Opalikhovskaya Middle School), Lyceum # 1576, and school #213 in Koptevo. The total number of students in these schools is 4,250.

The project was supported by the Moscow City Department of Education and Moscow City Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection.   (http://fund-sd.ru/exxon-2013/index.htm).

The project contained two components: webinars and the contest “My Sparing Attitude to the Environment” (http://www.fund-sd.ru/exxon-2013/index.htm). 

In October-November, under this Project, 5 environmental specialists and 1 TV journalist conducted 12 webinars on a variety of aspects related to nature resources saving and improving the environment in school and at home.  The webinars were intended for middle and high school students. In the course of these events, the attendees learned about local and global resource saving practices; proper behavioral patterns of utilizing energy, water and solid household waste management at home and in school; the use of phyto design in classrooms for cleaning the air; and landscaping schoolyards. The webinars were devoted to the following topics:

Energy saving in school and at home

Water resources saving

Solid household waste management

The basics of creating eco videos  

Phyto design in classrooms and schools

Landscape design in schoolyards

Environmental specialists’ presentations may be viewed at (http://www.slideshare.net/bchigarev/)/ and videos of these webinars are at (http://www.fund-sd.ru/exxon-2013/index.htm) and https://www.youtube.com/user/FundSD).

The ExxonMobil Russia Inc. volunteer Alexei Evstratov presented “CS Energy Industry for Kids-2013” at a webinar attended by nearly 75 students

Almost 180 students (13-17 years old) participated in these webinars.  And dozens of students from partner schools watched the webinars.

The students and teachers became acquainted with the basics of creating video pieces devoted to environmental topics. Students of partner schools and their parents were invited to take part in a contest of video pieces “My Sparing Attitude to the Environment” devoted to household resources’ saving practices. It included two nominations:  “How We Can Save Natural Resources“and “The Voyage of a Drop of Oil”

27 students and 12 teachers (as supervisors) submitted 9 spots and 6 presentations in two nominations. The spots are at http://www.fund-sd.ru/exxon-2013/videos.htm

The best works were selected by a professional jury made up of representatives of the following organizations:  Moscow City Department of Nature Use and Environmental Protection; Moscow Children’s Ecology and Biology Center, ExxonMobil Russia Inc., Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD).  The videos are at

https://www.youtube.com/user/FundSD.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_vtUvOM4N4&feature=youtu.be

 http://yadi.sk/d/YUjfxh7XENWyq;       http://fund-sd.ru/exxon-2013/videos.htm)

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WbULQaa6f0:   http://yadi.sk/d/SBgbJkORENTQT

http://fund-sd.ru/exxon-2013/videos.htm)

Of the submitted videos, 9 were nominated for prizes.

On December 20, at a prize awarding ceremony held at Moscow State University Physical Geography Museum, the 54 most active students were awarded diplomas and prizes from ExxonMobil Russia, Inc.  Diplomas were given to 17 teachers and all partner schools. Nearly 40 students who were the most active project participants took part in tours of the Physical Geography Museums.

FSD’s information and communications effort covered the main project events: (http://www.fund-sd.ru/exxon-2013/index.htm).

To further advance project results and outcomes FSD is planning to organize a master class at the EcoCup Film Festival   that will take place in February 2014 in Moscow. (www.ecocup.ru).

About the Fund | Contact Information | ©2005 Fund for Sustainable Development