Environmental Troops on the Mezen

15072014

The first stage of the Udora pupils environmental expedition organized in the framework of the Model River Mezen project has come to an end. Six 7-11-graders together with their leaders Alexander Morozov and Alexander Butyrev have sailed on a catamaran along the Mezen – from the Lower Puzla inflow into the Mezen to Usogorsk.

Unfortunately, this time the weather did not indulge the guys. Nevertheless, the group was not only contemplating the beauties of nature and mastering its tourism skills, but was also engaged in the cleaning of the Mezen banks and the coastal area from the rubbish and junk. In the mouth of the Vizinga the schoolchildren have equipped the place of the traditional stop of the fishermen and tourists: a table with the benches and a canopy are installed there. In the place called Roch kerka the guys have removed and buried in a pit the rubbish, which has apparently been accumulated there for years waiting for such troops to come. Some other parts of the river side have also been cleaned.

The pupils have become familiar with the team work and acquired the traveling self-service skills. They have witnessed first-hand that it is easy to disturb the primevalness of nature, though it’s not always possible to bring everything back and make it “as it was”.

Even before this journey the schoolchildren knew that one of the purest rivers of Europe – the Mezen – with plenty of sites of cultural and historical significance and natural attractions located on its banks – flows on the territory of their native Udora district. Now they have learned by experience that there are plenty of problems on the Mezen. One of them is littering of the river banks. Many vacationers, fishermen, and tourists often leave their rubbish directly on the resting place or just throw it in the river. This problem has been experienced most acutely on the areas with the hunting huts located close to the river, the places most frequently attended by the people. Unfortunately, the people visiting these places do not give much thought to the fact that the rubbish does not simply spoil a beautiful river landscape, but also leads to more serious consequences.

The expedition members hope that the adult tourists and fishermen will follow their example and will leave their campsites, overnight stay and resting places clean. The caution plates and appeals to preserve the Mezen beauty installed by the pupils will remind them about this.