The Youth Environmental Center of SUE “Vodokanal of St. Petersburg” (YEC) was opened on September 24, 2002.

YEC was created as an example of fruitful partnership between a big municipal utility, educational institutions, the City administration, international and public organizations to provide environmental enlightenment and education for young people, and as a model of an up-to-date and efficient interactive approach to environmental education and enlightenment of the younger generation.

The work of the Youth Environmental Center is based on the sustainable development concept using interactive methods and modern information technologies.

Over the years of its operation, YEC became the most advanced model of the interactive approach to environmental education which is used by many municipal and international organizations. The Youth Environmental Center is continuously developing and provides a basis for environmental education activites of the Company.

More than 100 000 people have taken part in the YEC classes, projects and programmes over almost 6 years.

The Youth Environmental Center has developed different thematic classes intended to create the culture of water use and to make people aware of their responsibility for water. All classes are designed for different ages in consideration of psychological characteristics of the pupils.

The following classes were developed:

• “Water for a Big City”
• “The Baltic mysteries”
• “The World inside a water drop”
• “The Baltic Regatta”
• “Journey with a water drop” etc.

One of the main activities of the Youth Environmental Center is project development and implementation. The projects for students of different ages are dedicated to various aspects of water environment, water use and water consumption, the Baltic Sea, ideas of education for sustainable development intended to involve young people in the resource saving actions which are level to their capacities.

The YEC implemented the following projects:

• “Make friends with a water drop”,
• “Contests of School Ecological Newspapers”,
• “St. Petersburg fountains – reality or dreams”,
• “The Baltic Sea is our common home”,
• “The Baltic Regatta”,
• “Tree”,
• “Formula of success: ask the top manager”,
• “Focus on the Future: City and the Young”,
• “At Water drop’s place”,
• “Megalopolis – a look into the future”,
• “What does the sea start from?” etc.

About 10,000 students, teachers and heads of the educational institutions were trained to use advanced effective methods of environmental education and enlightenment on the YEC example. Within the framework of Vodokanal’s environmental policy, seminars intended to disseminate the ideas of sustainable development on the example of the Company activities were conducted together with the St. Petersburg Environmental Education Support Organization; there is a programme of pedagogical initiatives support “School of tomorrow”.

In order to transfer the experience of the YEC work organization and methods, the following books and study guides were published: “Vodokanal of St. Petersburg: journey with water”, “How to create an environmental center”, “Water lessons”, “Water Lessons with GoGoRiki”, “How to make an ecological newspaper”, series of methodic materials: “Water for a Big City”, “Education for sustainable development”, “Eco-economy”, “Environmental technologies for sustainable future”.

YEC is the initiator and participant of many international projects such as: “Baltic Sea Visions”, “Youth Eco-Forum of the Nordic Countries”, “City as educational and ecologically safe environment for the youth; towards the UN decade of education for sustainable development” supported by EC TACIS programme, etc.

The YEC activities were highly appraised by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, the President of Finland Tarja Halonen, the RF Gosstroy Chairman N.P. Koshman, the EBRD President, ambassadors and consuls of different countries of the World.

One important achievement of the YEC was the winning of the Contest “National Environmental Award – 2007” in the nomination “International Environmental Initiatives” for the international youth project “The Baltic Sea is our common home!”

Current projects of the Youth Environmental Center

All YEC’s projects and innovations are closely associated with goals and objectives of the Company, with its environmental policy. The philosophy of project selection is simple: the projects should make environmental ideas clear to children and teenagers, involve the young in the discussion of environmental challenges, teach them how to take, in future, right decisions on those issues which now are solved by adults and finally create environmental awareness among the younger generation.

• Youth Communication Project “Let’s Save Water Together!”

Groups from educational institutions as well as any individual may take part in the project by registering at the Internet-portal www.H2Oplanet.ru. Using the Internet-portal www.H2Oplanet.ru the participants may communicate, obtain information about efficient use of resources and responsible water use, create their own projects and share their achievements with the whole world.

• Russian-Danish Project “One Tonne Less”

The project is implemented in partnership with the Consulate General of Denmark under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The project aims at raising public awareness about climate change issues. The project covers design of a Russian version of the One Tonne Less Web site (www.1tonmidre.dk), elaboration and distribution of information materials on CO2 emission reduction, development and implementation of the programmes aimed to raise the awareness of pupils about climate change, and seminars for teachers.

• “Water, Russia, Finland – perspective of the young”

The partners of the Project are the society “Finland – Russia”, Administration of Turku, the Association of Nordic countries cooperation “Norden”, the Youth Environmental Center of Vodokanal and the Child and Adolescent Center “Youth Creative Forum Kitezh plus”. The organizers want to help the growing generation to understand the value of water and realize responsibility for its consumption under this Project. The Project participants are: students from St. Petersburg and Turku at the age of 12-17. Children receive lots of information about the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, they try to create newspapers and posters, learn the traditions and history of Russia and Finland, implement their own research and creative mini-projects.

• “Children of Russia – Soul of Russia”

The main idea of the Project: Adults and children – dialogue of the generations! Within the framework of the Project different forms of cooperation between the youth and adults will be tested: seminars, round tables, role and business games, creative activities (writing of fairy tales and stories reflecting attitude to the World). One of the main results will be the Encyclopaedia of Russian Children Creativity containing tales and histories written by children from different regions of our country. With the assistance of the Youth Environmental Center the students of St. Petersburg will be able to meet interesting people: workers of culture, ecologists, businessmen, politicians and to discuss environmental issues with them.

• “Lessons of the Baltic Sea”

The Programme “Lessons of the Baltic Sea” was timed to the celebration of the Water Day and the Baltic Sea Days. The manual “Lessons of the Baltic Sea” was developed by the specialists of the Youth Environmental Center while implementing the Project. It is a series of educational manuals in support of sustainable development. The manual will help the teachers prepare vivid and interesting lessons for the children to learn about the ecosystem of the Baltic Sea, understand its significance for Russia and other countries.

www.h2oplanet.ru

е-mail: dec@vodokanal.spb.ru