What do we know about the harm to the environment caused by plastics? How much does one ordinary battery pollute the earth? How is waste utilized in more economically developed countries? How can plastic waste be used after it is recycled? These questions are tackled by the scientists and the environmentalists of the whole world. Because we leave hundreds of millions of tons of waste to our descendants for generations to come, poisoning the ground, the water and the air.
Therefore, it is not by accident that the 14th Traveling Docudays UA festival this year attracts attention to environmental problems in Ukraine and worldwide, and to the negative impact of human activity on nature. This year’s concept of the festival is called 4 Degrees. Goodbye, Human! In the past century, human rights issues and environmental problems have developed side by side; however, the latter is only gaining popularity in the Ukrainian context.
We discussed these and other questions with the students of the 10th grade of the Chernihiv General Education School No. 10. The events were organized together with the representative of an NGO “ECO CITY” Mykhailo Marukhno. He and the festival’s regional coordinator Serhiy Blednov prepared a presentation about the problem of soil contamination which is caused by wrong utilization of batteries, and about the threat to the environment from plastics. Separately, we discussed examples of conscious consumption and practices of environmental protection.
It is important that students were not just listeners; they prepared and carried out their competitive flashmob whose aim was to attract attention to environmental pollution by plastics.
“This lesson actually was not a dry lecture, because environmental problems are directly related to human survival. The country is changing gradually, but most importantly, children themselves, their worldviews and contemporary thinking are changing. The educational institutions that organize these events and invite representatives of NGOs are changing, too,” says Serhiy Blednov.
We remind you that the public program of the Traveling Docudays UA screenings in Chernihiv region starts on November 30.
The event was organized by NGO “MART”.
Photos: Serhiy Blednov