On November 15th, 2014, the «Zaporizhstal» Steel Works, together with employees of National Nature Reserve «Hortitsa» in the city of Zaporozhye, organized an ecological quest for senior pupils from 10 schools in Zaporozhye as part of the 2nd stage of the public ecological initiative «Save the Dnieper together!». This initiative aims to engage students in environmental awareness and conservation efforts.
The excursion through the "Zaporizhstal" Steel Works was organized for schoolchildren as part of this event. During the excursion, Inna Holina, the Head of the environmental protection department, informed the children about the widespread modernization projects being implemented by the Steel Works to reduce the technogenic load on the city. A notable project includes a new modern line of hydrochloric acid pickling CPL-4 in Cold Rolling Shop № 1, which will completely eliminate the disposal of process waters into the Dnieper river and reduce emissions of sulfuric acid fumes into the atmosphere by 83%.
This year, the first stage of the ecological initiative «Save the Dnieper together!» occurred a few days earlier, when «Zaporizhstal» Steel Works, in collaboration with the Zaporozhye regional organization «The Society of Fishers and Hunters of Ukraine» (UООR), initiated a comprehensive stocking of the Dnieper river with fish. Over 33,000 fish, including around 6 tons of white silver carps, were released into the river.
During the ecological quest, held within the territory of National Nature Reserve «Hortitsa», children participated in eight captivating ecological competitions. Senior pupils competed for three hours in ecological knowledge and skills: planting trees, creating and drawing nature protection signs, learning proper waste sorting, and engaging in ecological races for personal championships. In total, children planted 100 bird cherry tree saplings in the dendro-park area on island Hortitsa. Following the planting, experts from the National Nature Reserve «Hortitsa» and «The Society of Fishers and Hunters of Ukraine» assessed the students' knowledge of the flora and fauna of the island through botanical and zoological competitions. The schoolchildren successfully answered all the questions, and based on the results, a jury consisting of representatives from «Zaporizhstal» Steel Works, the National Nature Reserve «Hortitsa», and «The Society of Fishers and Hunters of Ukraine» determined the winners, both individually and by team results. All participants received valuable prizes for their educational institutions, including multimedia boards, projectors, televisions, wall clocks, and awards for individual achievements such as bicycles, sports watches, and tablets.
“The current ecological action is not an isolated event; we regularly conduct various activities in educational institutions related to ecological education. We introduce children to our enterprise and production processes, explaining environmental protection technologies and modernization projects aimed at improving ecology, which generates great interest among the children," noted Inna Holina, the Head of the environmental protection department.
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