A volunteer event to clear the Yalnya bog of litter will be held in the Miory district, as reported to BelTA correspondent by the organiser of the "Zhuravlinaya Yalnya" volunteer movement and owner of the agro-estate of the same name, Andrei Litvinov.
According to him, the event will take place on the morning of August 20 and will gather about thirty people: local residents, teachers and students from the Chepuki nursery-kindergarten - secondary school, and the Miory District Centre for Children and Youth. The participation of all interested individuals is welcome. The meeting point at 9:00 AM will be the "Zhuravlinaya Yalnya" agro-estate. Afterwards, volunteers will split into two groups and, accompanied by experienced guides, will head deep into the bog. The main task is to remove litter left by irresponsible mushroom pickers, berry pickers, and tourists. The plan is to clear an area of approximately 5 sq. km.
"The idea to organise a volunteer movement to draw attention to the pressing issues of the Yalnya bog (litter pollution, insufficient utilisation of its vast tourism potential) emerged in April. In May, it was successfully implemented: the project won a mini-grant from the Office for European Expertise and Communications. With the funds received, T-shirts and baseball caps with the movement's symbols were purchased for the volunteers. I am also investing my own resources: buying rubbish bags, gloves, and organising lunch," the interviewee said. According to Andrei Litvinov, the first event gathered about ten people. At that time, volunteers managed to clear an area of about 1 sq. km, collecting about 15 construction bags of litter, the main part of which consisted of plastic bottles and polyethylene bags.
The next meeting is planned for the end of the season, tentatively in October.