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Action to clean up the riparian zone of the River
Maly Seret
Fourteen organisers and 60 participants took part in this action
in spring 2003. The village council provided transport to clean up the riparian
zone of the Maly Seret. With the help of the council, some of the rubbish was
moved to the village rubbish dump, and some was buried in a place well away from
the riparian zone identified by the local authorities. Six such rubbish dumps
were identified on the riverbank, where participants of the action undertook a
thorough clean up.
Environmental action to clear riparian zones of blockages of
wood and debris left after tree felling
In June-August 2003, three field teams from "Vodograi"
worked to clear the beds of the Seret and the Maly Seret, Siretel and other
tributaries of logs and branches left after logging and other blockages of
debris; they also constructed weirs. To summarise, the following results were
achieved:
- about 120 km of the above-mentioned rivers and their tributaries were
monitored;
- 14 weirs were constructed;
- about 100 trees, washed down by floods and blown into the river by the
wind, were identified. As far as they were physically and technically able,
the "Vodograi" teams removed more than 60 trees from the riverbed
(in order to avoid fallen trees causing new blockages);
- about 40 places in the riverbed were cleared of a number of blockages
caused by tree debris left after felling activities;
- 23 young people studied how to undertake environmental action on mountain
rivers and streams; they included 19 schoolchildren taking part in this type
of activity for the first time.
A circular, booklets and bulletin were published and
distributed
The circular "Appeal to Countrymen" (print run
10,000 copies) is an appeal by young environmentalists of Banyliv-Pidgirnivska
High School, which is a part of "Vodograi" Bukovynsky Environmental
and Spiritual Centre, to protect their river and to take part in actions to
clean up rivers. The main objective of the full-colour booklet, "Guidance
on Rehabilitating Carpathian Small Rivers" (circulation 1,000 copies)
is to inform the reader about the quality of the water in small Carpathian
rivers, sources of pollution and the environmental state of the rivers and how
to improve them, and to describe the work of "Vodograi" and make
general recommendations.
Target groups of the booklet, "Let Us Rehabilitate the
Rivers of Bukovyna" (À6 format, 24 pages, circulation 1000 copies),
were citizens of Bukovynsky region who live in the basin of the River Seret and
whose activities directly or indirectly influence the environmental state of
rivers and their surroundings. The booklet explains to the reader that human
health and well-being depend directly on the state of the natural environmental;
it aims to strengthen the public attitude towards the protection and restoration
of small rivers.
Issue #2 of the ecological bulletin, "Towards a
Perception of the Harmony of Life" (16 pages, circulation 1,000 copies),
includes an assessment of the state of the Seret, Maly Seret and Siretel rivers,
the scenario for the action group's performance, and parts of children's essays
devoted to rivers.
An oblast-level workshop, "Ways to Rehabilitate the
Rivers of Bukovyna", was held
The workshop was held on 14 December 2003 in Banyliv-Pidgirny
village. Thirty-three people participated: teachers, directors of schools,
deputy directors of schools, educationists, representatives of the State
Department of the Environment and Natural Resources in Chernivetska Oblast,
Department of Forestry in Chernivetska Oblast, Storozhynetsky Department of
Education, Banyliv-Pidgirny Regional Hospital, Banyliv forestry area,
Banyliv-Pidgirny Village Council, Chernivsti Branch of the Society for
Environmental Protection, volunteers, etc. At the workshop, the topics for
discussion included the environmental state of the River Seret: the attitude of
local communities to the environment; environmental actions devoted to
rehabilitating the rivers in the Bukovynsky region and their role in
establishing an environmental ideology in young people; the consolidation of
efforts by local authorities, business and the public to protect and restore the
state of rivers.
Meetings were held with local citizens, local authorities and
the mass media
As a part of their project obligations, the "Vodograi"
information-action volunteer group held public meetings in 16 settlements in
Storozhynetsky and Vyzhnytsky Rayons, Chernivetska Oblast, over a period of 14
days. Taking into account meetings that were also held in hamlets, the
"Vodograi" team held a total of around 30 meetings.
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