A practical, hands-on environmental education centre focusing on the basics of children's safe behaviour in nature will be established in the agro-town of Dobromysl, Liozno District. The initiative is being implemented as part of the project "Public Engagement in Environmental Monitoring and Improvement of Environmental Protection Management at the Local Level", funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in Belarus in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, as reported to a BELTA correspondent by the initiative manager, Dmitry Rachkovsky.
The Vitebsk regional organisation of the Belarusian Red Cross Society is the author of the initiative, aiming to preserve the unique Babinovichsky nature reserve. The project envisages the creation of a system for educating children on safe and environmentally friendly behaviour in nature and environmental monitoring. To ensure this education and monitoring system functions effectively, a practical, hands-on environmental education centre will be established. It will encompass facilities located within the Dobromysl nursery-kindergarten "Yalinka", the Dobromysl secondary school, and the Babinovichsky nature reserve.
Through this centre, children will be introduced from an early age to various energy sources, the structure of electricity and water consumption, and methods of saving them. They will also learn about waste sources and ways to minimise, recycle, and reuse them. Schoolchildren will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of flora and fauna species diversity, participate in the conservation and increase of biodiversity, and engage in environmental monitoring.
A key feature of the initiative will be its focus on the safe behaviour of children and adolescents in nature and the prevention of childhood injuries, as well as an emphasis on informational and public outreach to promote an environmentally friendly lifestyle near the Babinovichsky nature reserve (including cleaning up illegal dumpsites, informing residents of Liozno District about the need to protect flora and fauna species listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus, and addressing fire safety issues).
An introductory seminar to launch the initiative will take place today. The project implementation period is approximately 1.5 years.