The environmental education project "ECOLEADER" School in Chelyabinsk is gaining momentum!

Participants of the project, organized by the V.I. Vernadsky Environmental Non-Governmental Foundation with the support of the State Corporation "Rosatom," today immersed themselves in the world of industrial ecology, seeing firsthand how large-scale environmental challenges are addressed in a major industrial city.

The day began with a visit to the unique and only Environmental Monitoring Center in the country, located in Chelyabinsk Region. The students learned about the work of automatic air quality control stations, and how stationary posts and mobile laboratories operate. They were shown modern devices for testing air quality in the center's laboratories.

The highlight of the day was a visit to the reclaimed city landfill located in Chelyabinsk. The Federal Ecological Operator (a company of the State Corporation "Rosatom") completed the reclamation work ahead of schedule, transforming the largest landfill in the country.

This major project, carried out by the Federal Ecological Operator under the federal project "Clean Country" of the national "Ecology" project, vividly demonstrated how modern technologies help solve environmental problems.

The students learned that, thanks to the reclamation, the quality of life for over 1 million people had improved. Harmful emissions into the city's atmosphere have been reduced by 30%, and harmful leachate discharges into the Miass River have been completely stopped.

The former landfill has now been reclaimed, and in place of the towering garbage heaps stands a neatly shaped landfill body. The young environmentalists were particularly impressed by the modern technologies used to collect and dispose of biogas. With genuine interest, they listened to how valuable resources are extracted from the former landfill, turning into a source of energy and heat.

In the afternoon, the students participated in an interactive session on "Ecological Risks" with Olga Savvateeva, Associate Professor at the Department of Ecology and Earth Sciences at the State University "Dubna." Together, they watched and discussed short films on ecology, which helped the students better understand environmental issues.

The day ended with an inspiring workshop titled "My Abilities for Sustainable Development Projects" by Yana Trudkova, Chair of the regional branch of "Ecosystem" in Chelyabinsk. This session motivated the participants to create their own projects.

Ahead of them are many more exciting discoveries and meetings!