An information and environmental center has been established for youth in Kopyś, Orsha district.
Now the children have more opportunities – they are participants in a large-scale environmental project being implemented at their educational institution. And last Wednesday, with the participation of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Khudyk, the grand opening of the country's first regional information center on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and hazardous chemicals took place.
It was established at the Kopyś Primary School – Secondary School and the nature protection institution "Ecological Sphere" within the framework of the Global Environment Facility's Small Grants Programme, with the support of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and the United Nations Development Programme in Belarus.
The school students themselves proposed the name for the information center and, under the guidance of professional designers and graphic artists, developed its logo. Considering the center's environmental, informational, and educational activities, it was named "Green Light."
– This is one of many projects of the ministry aimed at greening our society and improving the environment, – noted Andrei Khudyk. – It is no coincidence that we timed the opening of the center to coincide with the holiday celebrated worldwide – Environmental Protection Day. It is logical that our economy is also becoming greener every year.
The information center has been established to train volunteer groups from among local residents, primarily youth, to identify unauthorized dumps and storage sites of obsolete pesticides and chemicals, as well as containers used for their storage.
This will allow for a final inventory of hazardous chemical accumulation sites and the adoption of prompt measures for their elimination, which will improve the environmental situation in the region and contribute to the creation of a sustainable system for managing hazardous chemical waste.
It is noteworthy that the successful geographical location of the urban settlement will attract young people from three regions – Vitebsk, Mogilev, and Minsk – to participate in the work.
As the school principal Mikhail Lebedev shared, the first training seminars and workshops have already taken place in Kopys. Based on the school, "Summer Academies" will be organized in the form of health camps according to specially developed programs. An experimental plot has been established for growing plants in accordance with the principles of organic farming – without the use of chemicals, and a mini-tractor has been acquired.
As part of the project, a modern chemical laboratory has been equipped at the school, allowing for the analysis of chemical compound content in the environment – water, soil, and plants.
During the event, a presentation of the Kopys Secondary School, as well as a demonstration of machinery and equipment, took place. The nature protection institution "Ecological Sphere" also presented its activities within the framework of the project "Creation of a Regional Information Center on POPs and Hazardous Chemical Substances Management."
In honor of the memorable event and as part of the "Let's Improve Our Small Homeland" campaign, guests of the settlement and project participants, led by the minister, planted a thuja alley on the school grounds.