On 10th June the Zabaikalsky National Park opened the doors of an inclusive educational space for children and adults – the Baikal Reserve School. At the opening ceremony, head of projects of Lake Baikal Foundation Ekaterina Terenteva, director of FSBI «Zapovednoe Podlemorye» Mikhail Ovdin, head of the ecoeducational department Nina Khrebtova, head of the Barguzinsky district and head of the Ust-Barguzin settlement spoke to the first visitors of the School.
Visitors of the Zabaikalsky National Park can participate in environmental lessons and excursions in the School free of charge. The space functions during the whole year proposing crucial knowledge about the cycle of waste and water conservation.
To turn ecological knowledge into skills one should take part in workshops and experiments with the help of teachers. Visitors can try to mold plastic, watch how recyclables turn into items of daily use, make experiments on the Baikal water, save the lake from phosphates in the interactive screen game among many other activities. We recommend specifically to focus on environmentally-friendly interior of the School: the furniture and information boards are made of recycled plastic based on the principles of sustainable design and effective use of resources.
Key values of the Baikal Reserve School are innovativeness, inclusion and accessible environmental knowledge. All elements of the space, from teachers’ specialization to technical equipment, are selected with respect to the necessities of people with special needs and vulnerable groups.
The School is located in a geodome next to the entrance to the national park, on the right from the visit-centre. The space can be freely visited by everyone who comes to the park. The employees of the cash desk and the visit-centre and the volunteers will be ready to give information about how to find the School. If you want to come to the School as a group, it is required to send an electronic request to ecopros@pdmr.ru, indicating the name of your organization, quantity and age of the visitors.
The Baikal Reserve School project is implemented by Lake Baikal Foundation in partnership with the FSBI «Zapovednoe Podlemorye» with the support of the Presidential Grants Foundation.