Russian Natural Resources' Supervision Agency Awards 'Ecology is Everyone's Business' Finalists

On 25 November, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) announced the results of the International Children’s and Youth Award “Ecology is Everyone's Business." About 200 winners were chosen, with almost half of them scooping first, second, or third in 12 nominations. Four prizes were awarded to journalists and special prizes were given to the rest of the finalists by the jury. The main aims of the project are to increase awareness among young people about ecological issues, to identify talented children and teenagers in the field, and to fuel respect for nature. The award was established by Rosprirodnadzor in the spring of 2021. In six months, 9,500 applications were received, and 6,000 of them were accepted. About 650 works reached the final and were included in the short list. All works were published on Rutube. The Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Victoria Abramchenko is chairman of the Competition Commission. "The results of the award have been announced. This is a long-awaited moment for many people. The jury had a heated debate and wanted to award every child, every school and institution we’ve seen. We received a lot of good works, so the jury decided not only to choose the winners, but establish several special prizes. Some kids will receive a trip to the sea or to the Russian Children’s Centre 'Orlyonok' as a gift, some – gadgets or smart audio equipment. The winners of first, second and third places will be given smartphones, tablets, certificates for environmental projects, interactive boards, projectors and laptops,” Svetlana Radionova, head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources, said. Twelve-year-old Vera Baukina from St.Petersburg was awarded the Grand Prix prize. She created "Environmental Lessons by Hedgehog Syroezhkin" and teaches first-graders environmental etiquette. Vera became the leader in the number of projects sent to the contest – she sent more than 50 applications across all 12 nominations. Two families from Grozny and the village of Chigasovo in the Moscow region, the Tymoshenkos and the Zakrailovs, who made did an “ecological” swim “for clean Baikal," were awarded the first-degree diploma certificate by Russia's Deputy Prime Minister. The Moscow Centre for Rehabilitation and Education no.7, which came up with a way to recycle paper and create notebooks from it, and also developed its own “butterfly therapy,” was awarded the second-degree diploma certificate. The diploma of the third degree was awarded to Aisha Sabyrjankizi from the village of Otenay in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan. "Some members of the project have become little stars. A real breakthrough on the Internet regarding the number of votes on social networks was the work of seven-year-old Anastasia Guseva from Sovkhoz Imeni Lenina in Moscow region. It received over 100,000 views – this is the record for the award. Nastya as a young environmentalist was invited to Maxim Galkin’ children's talent show ‘Best of All,'” Radionova added. The head of Rosprirodnadzor noted that children with special needs also won prizes. Among them was Irina Chebareva from Balashikha in Moscow Oblast, who danced in a wheelchair to raise awareness about climate change. Yulia Nemtseva from the Naro-Fominsk school for students with special health needs was also awarded for discussing forest fires. "Orphanages, social rehabilitation centres, schools for students with special health needs – in total, 64 institutions from Russia and abroad participated in the competition. The total number of applications accepted was about 200. All the works were good and were not inferior to others. It’s important to mention that about 170 applications were sent from 12 cities – participants of the Clean Air project. Most of the works came from Norilsk, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk," Radionova said. “We are very happy to award so many children. Almost two hundred children and teenagers from all over the world will receive not only gifts but also invaluable experience and new knowledge that they have gained thanks to the project. It was important for them not only to show their talents but also to identify environmental problems and find ways to solve them, which is very important. I hope that the children will continue to set an example for many others because ‘ecology is everyone's business,’” said Rustam Romanenkov, deputy director-general of the Arctic Initiatives Centre. Alexander Dzheus, director of the Orlyonok Russian Children's Centre, believes that it is necessary to educate children from a very young age to take care of the world around them. “That is why Orlyonok took an active part in the award events: boys and girls prepared and posted 2,600 works on social networks. In a few days, we will meet the children at the thematic session. I am sure that they will deepen their environmental knowledge and generate new ideas and projects which later will be implemented in different regions of our country,” Dzheus stressed. “Developing the habit of responsible consumption and respect for the environment in adulthood can be difficult. But children are still developing a wholesome picture. It is very important to draw their attention to contemporary issues in time and teach them the principles that become an integral part of an enlightened person's life. Thousands of children have gained a better understanding of environmental issues through their participation in the contest, and we are happy to be a part of this great project. SIBUR pays a lot of attention to educational work in this area and our support of the contest gives us an opportunity to better understand how the younger generation sees the future and their role in it,” said Dmitry Konov, chairman of the Management Board of PJSC SIBUR Holding. At the award ceremony, SIBUR presented a special prize for the best work on the topic of responsible plastic consumption to Daria Volkova from Kostroma. Nikola Drozdov, a famous scientist and well-known host of the programme “In the World of Animals,” awarded a special prize to Camila Ramos from Guatemala, a young girl who called on the world leaders to protect nature and our planet. Boris Mashkovtsev, director of Soyuzmultfilm Studio, presented an animation video course to Mikhail Kudukis from Khurba village in Khabarovsk Krai, and an animated sketching course to Ekaterina Spiridonova from Novosibirsk. Olga Spirkina, head of Ostankino Media School, presented an online speaking technique course to Dmitry Alferov from Ekaterinburg. FANABI Media Holding (Uzbekistan) organised a meeting with Miss Uzbekistan and a dressmaking master class for Adel Khikmatova from Bukhara. The International Children’s and Youth Award “Ecology is Everyone's Business” awarded first, second, and third places to children and teenagers from 27 Russian regions, with the Krasnodar Krai, Moscow (city), Moscow Region, and Irkutsk Region topping the awards chart. Among the 27 participating countries, the prizewinners come from Peru, Belarus, Panama, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Colombia, and Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics. Children and teenagers from 50 regions of the Russian Federation and 21 countries around the world received special jury prizes. “The prize covered so many countries. Children sent in entries from all over the world. In the foreign category ‘Ecology in the World’ where contestants talked about unique ecological experiences of their region, first place in the 7-11 age category went to Santiago Ariel de la Cruz Cuba from Peru, who submitted a video about Kipi the robot; second place was awarded to Luis Alberto Del Cid Dominguez from Panama, and to Avliyovkulova Safina from Uzbekistan. In the senior category, Sofia Larina from Makeyevka won first place, Ariel Espinoza from Mexico and Maria José Garzón Bermudez from Colombia took second place. Many countries received special prizes, including a beautiful dance from India, drawings from China and the UK. And many others,” Radionova noted. She stressed that all winners, laureates, and children awarded special jury prizes will receive awards in Russia from the heads of the territorial divisions of Rosprirodnadzor. Foreign participants will receive gifts by courier services. Partner Materials. 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