MASU students contribute to Arctic ecosystems preservation
- 21.10.2022
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ECO-Arctic, a MASU Student Association, kicked off the academic year extremely active. Students proved once more that their goal is to contribute to Arctic ecosystems preservation and promote eco agenda in the region. To do so, they have joined many eco events and campaigns.
MASU students and regional volunteer groups planted more than 2000 seedlings of pine near Olenegorsk as part of national campaign 'Save the forest', which is supported by Presidential Grants Fund and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
ECO-Arctic members also joined SevMorSubbotnik, during which they cleaned up plastic waste on the coast of the Kola bay near Abram-Mys. Unlike microplastics, plastic itself can be removed using affordable technologies. Coastal clean-up is a measure for water areas protection that allows preventing secondary pollution of these areas. During the event, students collected eight bags of plastic waste and explored Lavna Waterfall. The SevMorSubbotnik is a clean-up campaign named after the North Sea Route, designed to find and test solutions for cleaning the Barents Sea coast from plastic.
'This is not the first time our students take part in SevMorSubbotnik. The work of non-profit environmental organizations on coastal clean-up becomes easier with the help of our volunteers,' said Evgenia Aleksandrova, head of ECO-Arctic student association.
Students have also participated in campaign for plastic caps recycling. The campaign is not new to our students, who continue to promote recycling along with Murmansk citizens and Clean Arctic, a regional Centre for Environmental Initiatives.
Besides, Eco-Arctic have joined World Cleanup Day, which is a civic movement designed to unite people around the world to save our planet. One more event that involved MASU second-year students was a team competition, during which they collected and separated waste along Lake Semyonovskoe. On the same day, Eco-Arctic volunteers joined the community clean-up organized by Clean Arctic and the City's Administration. In total, volunteers collected 30 bags of waste.
'Unfortunately, not everybody understands how dangerous soil pollution with petroleum products and oils is. Still, some people throw and spill hazardous waste or liquids out of their cars, causing contamination of soil and ground waters. We managed to clean up the area, but it wasn't an easy job,' commented Aleksandra Savostyanova, second-year student in Ecology and Nature Management.
ECO-Arctic members have also joined the national eco marathon, which will be held in December in Moscow. The winners will be announced and awarded in March 2023. The marathon is a team competition with eco cases and challenges. Top 20 teams will be invited to a 2-day eco-educational course. The marathon is supported by Green Universities of Russia Initiative. Murmansk Arctic State University became a part of the Initiative earlier this year.
'Autumn is the best season for eco activities like community clean-ups and tree planting,' summed up Evgenia Aleksandrova, head of ECO-Arctic student association. 'Our students get in the game right away!'
