On 14 March, an eco-marathon was launched at VSU. It is a series of environmental events aimed at promoting “green” thinking at the university. The eco-marathon is part of the VSU Green Campus project run in cooperation with the European Union.
The opening meeting was addressed by the Rector of VSU, Dmitry Endovitsky, who noted that the university had always been a leader not only in education, but also in terms of environmental agenda. The Rector recalled the names of the VSU scientists who had made significant contribution to the development of environmental science: Mikhail Tsvet, Konstantin Saint-Hilaire, and Boris Kozo-Polyansky. He also outlined the modern scientific schools in the field of ecology existing at VSU as part of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, the Faculty of Geology, and the Faculty of Geography, Geoecology, and Tourism.
Professor Tatiana Devyatova, DSc in Biology, the Head of the Department of Ecology and Land Resources at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at VSU, welcomed the participants and highlighted one of the key challenges of modern environmental science, the lack of public awareness of proper waste management. The eco-marathon, along with a number of international eco-educational grants implemented by the university, proposes to respond to this challenge.
Professor Semion Kurolap, Dean of the Faculty of Geography, Geoecology, and Tourism at VSU, noted that the university has a forty-year history of environmental studies.
“We are now entering the stage of practical solutions for environmental issues, including the problem of waste management, which has been chosen as the key issue in our project. If we solve this problem, we will be able to cope with many others,” concluded Semion Kurolap.
Alla Akulshina, Head of International Relations office at VSU and the coordinator of the project, announced the activities that will take place as part of the VSU Green Campus. In particular, an apothecary garden with medicinal herbs will be set up in the VSU Botanical Garden; green areas will be organised in the university’s academic buildings. Moreover, a system of separate waste collection will be introduced, and training seminars on this subject will be held (this activity was launched after the opening ceremony). There also will be a video competition “My Green University”, which was presented in more detail by Natalia Ushkova, leading specialist of the International Relations office at VSU. In turn, Lilia Alayeva, Associate Professor at the Department of Ecology and Land Resources of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at VSU, presented the detailed programme of the eco-marathon.
At the end of the opening ceremony, Elena Negrobova, Deputy Director of OOO Voronezh Regional Waste Management Centre and an engineer of the Department of Ecology and Land Resources of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at VSU, held a master class on waste sorting. In addition, representatives of the Sedmoy Lepestok ecostations shared their experience in waste management in Voronezh.
