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ABOUT THE MYSTIRIOUS UDORA

08.05.2018| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

The intellectual game, which was built according to the principle of a popular TV-game «What ? Where ? When ?» took place in the settlement of Usogorsk of the Udora district with a base of Udora business incubator as a part of Model river Mezen project.

The questions were played according to the topics devoted to the fish fauna of Mezen, the instruments and the rules of fishing, Udora fishing сraft traditions, the Udora people everyday life features. Against Udora team of experts there played the members of Model river Mezen project Working Group.

25 questions were asked and 9 of them were answered correctly. The game was finished in favor of the project Working Group, and this fact was really annoying for the experts, because during the discussion the correct versions sounded, but for the reason of some players’ uncertainty after the end of debates the wrong answers were given.

The team, where Vladimir Sorov was unanimously chosen as a captain, consisted of 6 young people from Koslan village, the settlements Usogorsk and Mezhdurechensk. According to the Model river Mezen Working Group experts, the game could be finished with an entirely different account if the players standed for and defended on their opinion more confidently during the discussions. As a result, their non-compliance has played the fatal role in the game outcome. Model river Mezen project coordinator Nikolay Shilov and Silver Taiga GIS-specialist Alexander Borovlev acted as the game experts.

The experts of the game

Anastasia Lobanova, the social teacher of Usogorsk secondary school with an extensive learning of separate subjects, demonstrated a good game. She actively nominated different versions, warmed-up the interest of playmates to the game, and by the results of experts’ and spectators’ voting she was accepted as the best player.

Anastasia Lobanova (in the center), a social teacher of Usogorsk secondary school, became the best player

Both experts and spectators marked her dynamism and erudition. The best question accepted by experts was the question of the project Working Group member, a writer Alexey Vurdov, about a perch processing in old times before baking the fish in the ashes. The players did not give the correct answer, but they estimated the question as the most successful. The musical pauses were filled in by Alexander Morozov with the songs about Udora.

Alexander Morozov filled in the musical pauses

Silver Taiga Foundation has an educational activity within the framework of biodiversity conservation projects on the territory of Komi Republic. This submission of material in an unconstrained form of intellectual game is used by the Foundation not for the first time already, and it turned out to be fruitful. We remind, that the Foundation with the assistance of Udora centralized library system conducted the same game a year ago in the settlements of Koslan and Bolshaya Pyssa during the The Mezen Day festival. If in Koslan the team of experts lost the game, then playing in another сontent during The Mezen Day festival, it took revenge from the Model river Mezen Working Group. This year The Mezen Day festival is planned to be held in the settlement of Glotovo, where the Udora experts will be again given the opportunity to recoup.

During the discussion there sounded right versions, but…

Photo by Sergey Gordeev

COOPERATION WILL HELP PROMOTE NEAR MEZEN DISTRICTS ON THE TOURISM MARKET

07.03.2018| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

An inter-district round table meeting entitled Rural Tourism and Recreational Use of the River Resources arranged under the Model River Mezen project was held in the village of Leshukonskoye, Arkhangelsk region, at the end of February.

Nikolay Sitnikov, deputy head of Leshukonskoye administration, who opened the event, said it was not the first meeting of representatives of adjacent districts participating in the Mezen project, and each time both parties came to a conclusion that Udora and Leshukonye districts’ residents had a lot in common both in their history and in today’s life full of challenges, so it was reasonable to look for solutions and further perspectives together.

Nikolay Sitnikov, deputy head of Leshukonskoye administration

Even though Leshukonye district is far from being located “at the crossroads”, it is quite possible to get there. And when you are there, there are a lot of things that may impress you.

Tourist potential of Leshukonye includes landscapes of the middle reaches of the Mezen with high steep banks of red, white or blue clay that are appealing to one’s eye, old villages with well-preserved architecture and traditional life style, and centuries-old folk culture carefully maintained by enthusiasts – original folk bands, village craftsmen, librarians, museum staff, etc. The package of tourist products offered by the district is limited for now – a boat tour along the Pizhma called Mistery of Pizhma Rapids, a tour for pilgrims Yudin Hermitage, tours to the house museum of old Martyn in Selishche, to the local history museum and the Center of Crafts in Leshukonskoye… The Vazhenka guest house in the district center welcomes those who love hunting and fishing attracting tourists by hunting (wildfowl, elks and brown bears) and fishing resources.

The potential is poorly used at the moment. Remote location and absence of good quality all-year-round roads do not contribute to tourism development, of course. Another problem is absence of enthusiastic and knowledgeable “players” on the field, low self-confidence and sometimes indifference. Moreover, many villagers from Leshukonye and Udora areas are clearly against the idea of rural tourism promotion, as they are afraid of invasion of strangers who may destroy the last remaining fish and wildfowl resources. Obviously, rural residents do not know any successful examples of rural tourism development bringing about other positive changes, for example, the boom in service business (guest houses, transport, catering), manufacturing of souvenirs, revitalization of long forgotten arts and crafts, etc.

The first tourism intiatives for Leshukonye were spoken about at the meeting by Anzhela Makarova from the district administration and entrepreneur and natural and rural tourism enthusiast Igor Korbut.

Igor Korbut

Anzhela Makarova, specialist of the district administration (in the center)

Alexander Morozov, Ozherelye Udory director, told about tourist initiatives in Udora, he reported on the existing tourist routes, guest houses along the Mezen and potential new routes to be developed.

Olga Sazhina’s presentation about the Mezen Day event held for the first time last summer under the Mezen River project also raised a lot of interest among the participants. Just to point out that the Mezen Day representing event tourism became the first example of cooperation between two neighbouring districts, as both Udora and Leshukonye residents took part in it.

Initiators of the round table meeting are hoping to preserve the tradition through more than just facilitation of the Mezen Day event planned to be held next summer. The key tourism activists of the two districts – Alexander Morozov and Igor Korbut – agreed to develop and test a “through” tourist route along the Mezen (across Leshukonye and Udora districts) in the near future, and discussed other opportunities for potential cooperation in tourism development. Inclusion of the most interesting landmarks of both areas will diversify natural and ethnic components of the proposed routes and hopefully attract visitors interested in the North to the districts. Tourist group exchange and joint promotion of tourism products also have good potential …

It is possible that the cooperation will help to promote Mezen districts on the tourism market.

Visitors from Leshukonye on the Mezen Day in Udora district

Participants of the rafting tour on the Vashka before the start, 2017

LIBRARY BRIDGE LESHUKONYE-UDORA

07.03.2018| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

On 1^st March 2018, during the working trip to Leshukonye district, Arkhangelsk region, the Silver Taiga Foundation for Sustainable Development took part in the round table meeting of librarians History of Economic and Cultural Contacts of the Mezen Districts of Arkhangelsk Region and Komi through the Prizm of Ecology held in Vozhgora, Leshukonye district, Arkhangelsk region. Safekeepers of the cultural heritage of the two neighbouring districts – Udora Centralized Library System and Leshukonye Intersettlement Library – met in the old village and discussed prospects for the library services development. Librarians from Leshukonskoye, Vozhgora, Rodoma, Ust-Kyma and Yuroma represented Arkhangelsk region, and their colleagues from Koslan, Chuprovo, Vazhgort, Ertom and Usogorsk participated on behalf of the Komi Republic.

The event was held under the umbrella of the Silver Taiga’s project Model River Mezen aimed at restoration of fishery resources and sustainable river management promotion.

“Some people get surprised that we work with libraries, schools and recreational centers under the environmental project. But to manage the resources efficiently and to get positive results from any project, information exchange is of utmost importance,” Valentina Semyashkina, Silver Taiga Foundation deputy director and local communities project manager, highlighted in her conversation with the participants.

Leshukonye district was chosen as a venue for the librarians’ meeting not only because of its location in the Mezen basin. It is a unique area known to the whole world by its spinning wheels decorated with the Mezen design, peculiar roof accolades, gingerbreads, orthodox memorial crosses. The area also differs by its buildings. For instance, the house of V. Klokotov in Zaoxerye was recognized the best architectural structure of the district and was moved to the Mezen part of the Malye Karely museum in 2004. Leshukonye is famous for its songs both in Russia and abroad. Folk song lovers know well the Leshukonye amateur chorus, Vozhgora folk chorus, Keba folk chorus, Leshukonye children folk chorus and Rodina folk chorus. But the area’s key wealth is its people, and that was the main idea throughout the round table meeting.

House in Zaruchey, Leshukonye district, Arkhangelsk region

It was far from being the first meeting of librarians of the adjacent areas of Arkhangelsk region and Komi. The long-standing cooperation is preconditioned by the commonness of history, culture and economics of the two neighbouring districts that once had been a single entity. Researchers from libraries shared new facts proving long-established connections between the two northern peoples at the round table meeting.

As Svetlana Ivanova, head of the business data department of Leshukonye Intersettlement Library, said, our peoples are related by common ancestors – Zavolochye Chud who once inhabited the area in the basin of the Mezen and the Vashka rivers. Those old tribes left their imprint on the names of settlements and water bodies in Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic. The Mezen dialect has many words from the Komi language. For many centuries Russians and Komi lived together on that land, and it was just in the 17^th century when modern borders between the Russian and Komi areas were established.

Svetlana Ivanova

“Russians always contacted with the Komi people. In census books we sometimes find proofs of it, for example, an adscript came from Udora district, or a widow married a man in Udora in 1752. We are left here to wonder how and when a Russian woman and a Komi peasant could meet. Maybe they encountered at a fair? Or met each other along the Pechora tract?” Svetlana wondered in astonishment.

Svetlana’s suggestions about life-changing meetings at fairs were later continued by Olga Antsiforova, head of Vazhgort branch of the Udora Centralized Library System. She said that after the mid of the 19^th century Vazhgort in Udora used to hold an Epiphany fair with merchants and peasants from Ustug, Arkhangelsk, Solvychegodsk, Krasnoborsk and Mezen areas coming there to trade their produce and fish. According to Olga, for Komi peasants the fair was a place to meet the Russian language and culture and contributed to improvement of amicable connections between the neighbouring peoples. It was owing to the Epiphany fair that Komi residents learnt and started using bright spinning wheels with the Mezen pattern manufactured in Palashchelye, painted wooden spoons from Pokshinga, decorated coffers and boxes and other products of local crafts. By the way, over the last two years volunteers from Syktyvkar have come to renovate the sunken stalls of the Epiphany fair. The village residents hope that the famous Epiphany fair will be reconstructed soon. The first attempt to replicate the fair was as long ago as at the beginning of the 1970s.

Close connections between the two regions were also preconditioned by the forestry sector development. The first company that started large-scale wood cutting in Udora was managed by the 1^st guild merchant from St. Petersburg born in Arkhangelsk Nikolay Rusanov. In 1870, he built a port and a steam-driven sawmill in the estuary of the Mezen and equipped ships for wood transportation in Komi. Wood from Udora continued to be shipped in the Soviet epoch as well. You can still find a workers’ settlement called Udora in Leshukonye district, that’s where wood rafting workers used to live. At the moment, there is only one resident in the settlement, and it is excluded from the list of residential areas. However, there is still a road sign with the name Udora on the way to the village of Ushchelye.

Another Udora village in Arkhangelsk region

There were a lot of stories about how Leshukonye fishermen had been going to fish to Komi, in particular, to Yamozero lake, to Kosmy lakes. Representatives of Leshukonye shared their memories about the Soviet period, when they went to Komi to buy household and construction materials, and gave examples of their senior relatives who looked for brides at discos in rural recreational centers in Komi. As Zhanna Korovina, head of Chuprovo rural branch of the Udora Centralized Library System, mentioned in her report, since old times Komi girls were married by Leshukonye guys.

Zhanna Korovina

The report of Irina Rudnaya, head of customer service department of the Leshukonye Intersettlement Library, who spoke about the Pomor encyclopedia, was also very informative. It is a unique edition that has been under preparation for over 20 years. The scope of information of the Pomor encyclopedia consisting of five volumes makes it stand between the Great Soviet Encyclopedia and British Encyclopedia. For Pomor regional ethnographers, it is an edition of a high value. Many of the encyclopedia articles reflect long-established contacts of Leshukonye and Komi. As Irina Rudnaya said, first volumes of the encyclopedia are being digitalized now.

Irina Rudnaya

The meeting was concluded by librarians’ sharing of their methodical experience and plans for further cooperation.

FUTURE TOUR OPERATORS TOOK AN INTEREST IN MODEL RIVER MEZEN PROJECT

12.02.2018| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

Last week Silver Taiga specialists presented the Model River Mezen project to the participants of Udora community in Syktyvkar as the project is being realized mainly in Udora district of Komi.

Silver Taiga Deputy Director Valentina Semyashkina, Model River Mezen project coordinator Nikolay Shilov and PR specialist Olga Sazhina presented different activities of the Foundation carried out in Udora district under Model River Mezen project to the students of the tourism department of Syktyvkar Pedagogical College.

Silver Taiga Deputy Director Valentina Semyashkina

Future tour operators learned about educational campaign of the Foundation carried out in cooperation with the educational and cultural institutions of the district as well as with the local tour companies. Nikolay Shilov spoke about the activity devoted to the fish resources conservation of Mezen River and its tributaries, which is the main tourist potential of the district. Olga Sazhina told about the inter-village Mezen Day event held for the first time last summer in Udora district. The Mezen Day is going to be a tradition.

According to the students, Silver Taiga experience can significantly help the entrepreneurs to develop their tourist business in Udora district of Komi.

Participants of the meeting

FAR FROM CHILDISH ISSUES

06.02.2018| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

Were reviewed during the environmental and regional study conference Istoki (literally “Beginnings”) held on February 3, 2018 in Usogorsk village (Udora district of Komi). The conference was organized by the Silver Taiga Foundation under Model River Mezen project with the help of the Education Department of Udora district. The schoolchildren from Usogorsk, Vazhgort and Glotovo villages of Udora district participated in the conference as well as the representatives of the Usogorsk Children Activity Center and Komi Republican Ecological Center from Syktyvkar.

«We decided to make the conference environmental and regional at the same time as our beginnings include nature around us, history of our native village, house and our family. If people know their beginnings, they will live a happy life even if they will be far from their native places», this was the opening speech of the Silver Taiga Deputy Director, the chairman of the conference jury Valentina Semyashkina.

The Silver Taiga Deputy Director Valentina Semyashkina

This year a wide variety of topics had been chosen by the schoolchildren for investigation. Among them are Mezen river diversion process, lamprey variety, traditional fishing gears, Udora district protected areas inventory. It should be noted that the report about the traditional fishing gears of Komi people was accompanied by the collection of the ancient fishing gears. There were also unusual works with the slope of literary studies. Two research works were devoted to Vashka and Irva rivers.

The conference jury

The conference juryAccording to the conference conditions, the schoolchildren from 7-11 forms are invited to participate, but every time there are children of junior school. This year the youngest participants were from the 4^th form of Usogorsk secondary school. Moreover, there was a research group consisted of junior and senior schoolchildren and they participated under general conditions. Their work devoted to Mezen and Udora paintings was highly praised. The schoolchildren were also very artistic and they presented a mini collection of different things decorated by Mezen and Udora figures themselves. So their work River Figures got the top position at the conference.

Research group of the River Figures project

The second place was given to «Conservation of anseriformes migratory birds in the Republic of Komi» presented by Anna Kuznetsova, the representative of Komi Republican Ecological Center from Syktyvkar.

Anna Kuznetsova, the representative of Komi Republican Ecological Center from Syktyvkar

The work «How people did the laundry and wash the floors in the last century» prepared by Nina Uljanova from the 11^th form of Glotovo secondary school was in the third position.

Nina Uljanova (in the foreground)

The jury particularly noted the teamwork of the representatives from Usogorsk secondary school devoted to one of the local bogs. These schoolchildren are from the 4^th form only and that is why their work was out of competition.

Young bogs’ researchers

«This year the level of the research works is a bit lower in comparison with the last year. However, the issues chosen by the schoolchildren are very interesting and the researches should be continued», – said the representative of the conference jury, Model River Mezen project coordinator Nikolay Shilov in the end of the conference.

Model River Mezen project coordinator Nikolay Shilov

After the formal part of the conference master classes on felting and Mezen paintings were prepared for children. Young researchers made tiny felt boots (valenki) and decorated wooden souvenirs by Mezen figures with great pleasure.

Master class on felting

Master class on Mezen paintings

The representative of the Republican Protected Areas Center Margarita Shilova gave a lecture to the teachers about extracurricular environmental activities for schoolchildren.

The representative of the Republican Protected Areas Center Margarita Shilova

The participants of the conference

Photos by Nadezhda Morozova

CREATE AN ETHNIC PATH, OPEN A POTTERY AND REBUILD THE CHURCH

05.02.2018| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

These were the ideas suggested by rural territorial self-governments and the Udora branch of the Komi Voytyr interregional public movement during the round table meeting held on 2 February 2018 in the business incubator of Usogorsk, Udora district. The round table meeting was entitled as Project Activity and Fund Raising for Local Initiatives.

The meeting was attended by representatives of territorial self-governments of Usogorsk, Koslan, Blagoyevo, Seliyb, Chim, and Razgort. Valentina Semyashkina, Deputy Director and Local Communities Project Manager of the Silver Taiga Foundation, and Olga Torlopova, head of the tourist information center of the Syktyvdin Arts and Crafts Club Zaran, shared their ideas on project activity and experience in grants competition with the Udora public activists.

Olga Torlopova, head of the tourist information center of the Zaran Syktyvdin Arts and Crafts Club

Valentina Semyashkina recommended to the self-government activists not to aim globally when solving a social problem, but to focus on specific tasks and actual results which are measurable and estimable. The description of the actions listed in the project must contain the required resources.

Valentina Semyashkina, Deputy Director of the Silver Taiga Foundation, and participants of the round table meeting

The Silver Taiga representative also highlighted that any project consisted of coherent and mutually connected actions. To plan the project one should always set the deadline. In addition to personal opinion, the applicant should also support the relevance of the problem by some facts, for instance, by statistical data. It is possible to quote opinions of experts or refer to publications in the media. Grantors also approve of interviews of local people or their appeals attached to the application.

Olga Torlopova spoke in detail about how to raise money for social projects through grant funding. Since 2015 the tourist information center of the Zaran Syktyvdin Arts and Crafts Club managed by her implemented the budget of 685,630 rubles obtained through grant competitions. The Fresh Milk project in the village of Seyty, Syktyvdin district, was granted 605,993 rubles, with 319,000 of them having been used already. With Zaran’s help Syktyvdin territorial self-government bodies got financial support for their projects from the charity foundation Kind City of St. Petersburg, charity foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko, and smaller municipal grants and grants of the Governor of the Komi Republic.

“Participation in grant competition is not easy. We started with talking to people who had experience in getting grants. We tried to learn from them,” Olga Torlopova shared in her report.

According to her, many people don’t have enough courage to participate in grant competitions just for fear. They have the thoughts like “we are small people, we live far from the center, we won’t be able to compete at the national level”. But Olga Torlopova says that grantors are very nice to applicants, and they are to the same extent interested in allocation of the funds to projects. “You can always call to foundations’ representatives and get their consultation, if there are any difficulties with preparing your application,” Olga states. And the Timchenko Foundation’s experts even invited those who got to the semi-final of the competition to their Archangelsk office to help them finalize the applications.

“Grantors pay lots of attention to participation of local communities in projects. Even if the author of the project managed to gather a team of like-minded fellows, it is not enough. The application should state that all residents of a particular area are interested in making the project work. When we prepared the application for the Fresh Milk project funding, we visited Seyty, conducted a meeting and asked the residents if they were ready to participate in the project implementation. Only when we made sure they supported us we continued our work,” Olga Torlopova says.

In addition, the author has to state his or her previous experience in acting to meet the public interests in the application. For example, the residents of Seyty managed to reconstruct a chapel on their own, and that served well in favour of the project. The grantors understood clearly that the local residents were far from being inert. It is also important to reflect the project prospects after the funds are spent in the application.

When the application is assessed, grantors always try to identify if the project team has any partners from other organizations, is adjacent areas are involved in the project. It would be also useful to ask your partners to write supporting letters.

The application should also state the personal contribution of an applicant. It doesn’t have to be money. Available premises, transport or tools are also considered as personal contribution.

The Zaran representative warned the activists that experts of foundations follow closely the way potential beneficiaries behave in social networks, if they have any personal profiles, if they post information about their activity in mass media.

Activists of Udora territorial self-governments, in their turn, shared their project activity plans. For example, Elena Budrina and Tatyana Ermishina are planning to create an ethnic path called Kytshyas and an environmental path near the village of Ertom. According to the activists, tourism business development is one of the alternatives to revitalize the village. Razgort village has an idea to open a pottery, where it will be possible to reproduce the unique local style of ceramics. The craftsman who knows the art is still alive, but he is already 82, so the project author Ekaterina Pokrovskaya fears that he may have too little time to pass his skills over to the younger generation, and in this case the old traditions will be lost forever.

Tatyana Ermishina (Blagoyevo), Elena Budrina (Koslan)

Olga Busheneva (Seliyb), Ekaterina Pokrovskaya (Razgort), Dina Chuprova (Patrakovo)

Tatyana Kornoukhova from Blagoyevo supported actively the necessity to reconstruct the church in the village of Vendinga, even though the place can boast of many other sights. It was there that the first territorial school and hospital were built. Vendinga was also the first village in Udora to grow potatoes. However, Tatyana believes it is the church that can become the brand of the village.

Tatyana Kornoukhova (Blagoyevo)

To conclude the round table meeting, the participants exchanged their contact details to share the project development information in different places.

IS IT NECESSARY TO COUNT SALMON REDDS?

28.01.2018| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

The Silver Taiga Foundation has published the booklet about the monitoring system of the salmon fish species spawning.

In 2011 the Foundation together with the partners initiated the monitoring of the Atlantic salmon spawning quality under Model River Mezen project aiming at defining the changes in the number of spawning fish on Mezen River tributaries with the total length more than 200 km. The received monitoring data can be used further in the implementation of the measures of the population conservation and restoration. The given method does not give a good quantification of the local population but it allows to register the spawning activity in the head of Mezen River.

The method has the following advantages: it is not difficult to realize the method, it is not necessary to complete the authorization documents and there are no special requirements to the expedition equipment. In the other regions the monitoring system of the salmon fish species spawning is conducted in the other way – they use sonar sets to register the migratory species, flying machines or they catch the fish.

Due to the interest of the non-governmental environmental organizations and sectoral science to the used spawning records methods, the Foundation together with Karelian scientific center of the Russian Academy of Sciences have tried to combine the gained experience and to present it to all interested parties for practical application.

The Foundation thank everyone who took part in the booklet elaboration.

The booklet is available in the Russian language.

Following the Mezen Salmon

18.10.2017| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

This autumn once again the Silver Taiga representatives together with the specialists of Udora branch of Komirubvod State Budgetary Institution and Protected Areas Republican Center have carried out an expedition to the upper reaches of the Mezen River (including its tributaries Upper and Lower Puzla), Elva Mezenskaya and Pyssa. The aim of a week-long tour (October 1 – 8) was to monitor the Atlantic salmon spawning grounds under Model River Mezen project. The monitoring at the given area is being conducted since 2011.

The total route distance is about 200 km long. The expeditions are usually held in the beginning of October as the salmon spawning season starts in autumn from the middle of September and lasts until the freezing up of rivers.

The total route distance is about 200 km long

The spawning usually happens on the shallows with a sand-and-shingle and nonsilted up bottom. New salmon redds counting data got during the expedition compared with the data of the previous years will help to conclude about the changes in the state of the commercially important fish population. The monitoring of the spawning ground state and fullness is one of the population dynamics estimation methods. According to the data of the previous years, the salmon stock in the Mezen River is tragically decreasing from one year to another. The data recorded during the expedition will be clarified and analyzed, though, according to the leader of the expedition the Model River Mezen project coordinator Nikolay Shilov, the situation has not changed in comparison to the previous year.

– According to preliminary calculations, the number of redds in the headwater of Mezen River has decreased and in Pyssa and Elva Rivers has insignificantly increased. Notwithstanding that the water is colder than usual and the water level is comparatively high (these factors quicken and facilitate the spawning), the redds are met very seldom, – highlights N. Shilov.

At the bottom

Drift samples collection

The drift samples (the main ration ingredient of young salmon) were also selected during the expedition in one of the remote parts of Puzla River. The data got during the expedition will be processed during the laboratory examination and then included into the justification of a purpose-oriented interregional program on Mezen salmon conservation and reproduction in Komi and Arkhangelsk regions. The program is being elaborated under Model River Mezen project at the initiative of Silver Taiga Foundation.

Bearded stone loach lair

Udora golden autumn

Photos by Nikolay Shilov

Kids with Mums and Dads Invented Fairy-Tales, Drew Fishes, Made Videos and Compiled Mezen Guides

06.10.2017| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

The interregional environmental Family Battle contest launched on 1 September, initiated and conducted by the Leshukonye Central Library (Arkhangelsk region) as part of the Model River Mezen project, is completed.

The family teams that applied for the contest had to travel “distantly” along the Mezen river from its source to the estuary by performing environmental tasks. Each task fulfilled correctly earned points for the teams. The teams with most of the points competed in the final – at the “estuary” of the river. Families from Leshukonye, Mezen and Udora districts were invited to participate in the competition. 6 teams were admitted for the start, 5 from Leshukonye and one from Udora. Four teams got to the final – Joyous Family, Girls and Cactus from Leshukonye district and Udorachi from Udora district.

The game consisted of 5 stages. At the first one the participants had to invent a fairy-tale, story or legend about how the Mezen river appeared, and the children had to illustrate their essays. At the second stage the participants had to make a video with the youngest family member reciting a poem about the Mezen river. At the following stages they had to compile and present a quiz devoted to the Mezen and do the quiz prepared by another family.

The final test was creation of a tourist guide of the district chosen at random (either Leshukonye, or Mezen, or Udora districts). In addition, the children had to draw fishes inhabiting the Mezen river.

All tasks were assessed by a jury made of four people. According to the jury, the participants took a creative approach to fulfilling the tasks, they did it with all their hearts, all their works turned out to be bright and interesting. However, it was a competition, so the winner certificate and the prize went to the Joyous Family team – Anna Ivanova and Maxim Ivanov from Leshukonskoye – with 85 points they had earned. Our congratulations on the victory! The other teams were awarded participant certificates and souvenirs.

“We are thankful to all the participants”, Svetlana Ivanova, the contest facilitator, said. “Thank you very much for finding time to participate in our initiative. A special “thanks” is to the Udorachi team from the Republic of Komi – Alyona Tsyngina, Bogdana Tsyngina and other members of their big family.

It should be noted that the Leshukonye Central Library staff joined actively the Silver Taiga’s project on sustainable fishery resources management in cooperation with the local population (Model River Mezen) and conducted a cycle of environmental training events entitled as Mezen – River of the North, River of Life in June-September. The environmental Family Battle is just one of such events.

Family Battle winners Anna and Maxim Ivanovs

I Live at the Mezen Bank

06.10.2017| «Model river «Mezen» project by Just Author

That was the name of the photo contest organized by the Leshukonye Central Library staff under the environmental and educational project Mezen – River of the North, River of Life with the support of the Silver Taiga Foundation (Model River Mezen project).

Residents of the Mezen districts of Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic were invited to participate. The photos were accepted for two nominations: Beauty of the Native Village and Beauty of the Dear River. The pictures submitted for the contest were displayed at the Leshukonye Central Library and the readers were offered to judge them and to vote for the best works.

Photo show

“Residents of Leshukonye and Udora districts took part in the district”, Svetlana Ivanova says. “Mezen district residents haven’t sent a single photo unfortunately. 34 pictures were registered for the two nominations. 129 readers took part in the independent assessment. The readers’ choice for the Beauty of the Native Village nomination was the photo Beauty of Malaya Pyssa by Alyona Tsyngina. This photo got maximum votes – 57 in total.

«The beauty of Malaya Pyssa village» (author A. Tsyngina)

The second place was given to the Rodoma Village photo by Albert Loginov from Udora district (Malaya Pyssa).

«Rodoma village» (author A. Loginov)

The work called We Don’t Need Foreign Resorts by Natalia Fedotova from Yuroma, Leshukonye district, became the third.

N. Phedotova from Yuroma (the 3rd place)

«We don’t need foreign resorts» (author N. Phedotova)

The winner of the Beauty of the Dear River nomination was the work by Albert Loginov – The Kama River – the Mezen Tributary.

«The Kama River – the Mezen Tributary» (author A. Loginov)

The second place was given to Valentina Semenova with her Autumn Landscape (Tsenogora, Leshukonye district).

«Autumn landscape» (author V. Semenova)

And the third place was taken by Elena Novikova from Leshukonskoye with her photo Mirror.

«Mirrorlike surface» (author E. Novikova)

And only four works (three from Leshukonye district and one from Udora district) took part in the art contest 7 Wonders of the Mezen River. The first prize was unanimously given to Alyona Tsyngina from Koslan and her Udora Necklace presentation.

All participants of the contests were awarded with certificates and thank-you letters, presents and souvenirs at the gala evening devoted to the Mezen river, were competing works were displayed, extracts from literary works were recited, and local poets from the Vashka literary association declaimed their poems.

The facilitators are grateful to participants of both contests and hope for active participation of readers in new initiatives of the library. Special gratitude of the Leshukonye Central Library is to the Central Library named after A. Vaneyev in Koslan, Komi Republic, for support in contest organization.

The presents are going to be sent to Komi

You can see other participating photos at https://vk.com/album-37769424_246537242

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