Print text2002 — International ecological expedition along the Dnieper river
Date: July 2002
Route: the Dnieper river — from the source up to the Belarussian border
The passing of 500 kilometers route took for the participants of the expedition over three weeks. 20 students and pupils from Smolensk took part in the big international ecological project with support of the International Development Research Centre (Ottawa, Canada) and with the financial help of the United Nations Development Program, Smolensk city administration ( Ivan Averchenkov ), ecological fond “Revival of the Dnieper river” (Nikolay Mankov) and Smolensk Council of Russian Defence and Sports Technical Organization (Yury Samsonov).
Leader of the expedition:
Sergey Suhoruchenkov — the chief of the Viking-Nevo club and its ecological section.
Scientific adviser of the expedition:
Victor Shkalikov — the head of the ecological department of the Smolensk University for the Humanities, candidate of geographical science.
Goals of the expedition:
- Exploring the ecological condition of the Dnieper river along the route of the expedition.
- Revealing the depth of the river pollution within the main confluents.
- Exploring the ecological condition in the basin of the Dnieper river and its water protection zone.
- Exploring the present-day use of the river in recreation, practical, common and other purposes; definition the outlook of using the river in these directions.
- Definition the camping potential of the Dnieper river at all and on its different parts.
- Popularization the ecological knowledge and culture in the inhabited localities along the expedition’s route.
- Photographing the most attractive places for the photo-exhibitions and for the booklets.
- Video filming the educational film.
One of the conclusions of the expedition is that the Dnieper river reviving is the problem of all the people and it must be solved by everyone, by young and old alike. From the pupil who will not lazy to scavenge, and up to the ecological specialist who will construct the treatment plant correctly and do utmost for its speedy putting into operation.
