25.04.2009
Kyiv
Zelena Toloka on the Occasion of the Earth Day: New Record – 8 tons of collected garbage
On the occasion of Earth Day UN Office in Ukraine, companies- members of the Global Compact Network Ukraine and “Krayina Mriy” (Country of Dreams) Ethnical Festival gathered for the large-scale cleaning event- “Zelena (Green) Toloka”.
A lot of people, conscious of the environment participated in cleaning of the
“It has become a good tradition to hold joint ecological activities which unite efforts of all UN Global Compact members, their families and friends to clean up green zones of Kyiv, - commented United Nations Development Programme a.i., Ilaria Carnevali. – This year our activity has a particularly good name – Toloka, because traditionally it was organized for tasks requiring immediate effort. Taking care of the environment today is one of the most urgent tasks in which all the stakeholders have a role to play including Government, business, civil society, and every one of us!” Last year more than 100 participants and 20 companies participated in this activity and set a record of 5 tons of picked up trash. This year the event attracted more than 350 participants who were able to collect an enormous amount of garbage -about 8 tons, this way setting a new record!
As Oleh Skrypka, “Krayina Mriy” Festival organizer, noted: “Krayina Mriy is not just “Spivoche Pole” (the field where the festival usually takes place). This is the country without borders, it lives in our hearts. This is the country where we try to bring back to life those ancient traditions and customs which were followed by our ancestors and, unfortunately, forgotten by us. These are the traditions which made our nation different from the others, they made us unique – without them we would simple be “one of…” being mixed with other nations. With the help of this event we not only want to bring back the clean environment to this natural corner, but also multiply the cultural wealth inherited from our ancestors”. In the end of the event participants enjoyed performance of the ethnic music group “GulyayGorod” who provided a lot of positive emotions and rejuvenated tired activists.
Companies “Coca-Cola” and “Vitmark” provided refreshments for participants of the event. “Yarylo” brand presented entertainment program as well as tasty kvas. Ecological partners of the event provided all necessary equipment: “Tetra Pak” company provided gloves and trash bags, and “Greenco” Company car all picked up all the trash for further sorting and recycling.
Photo report from the event can be viewed here.
Note for Editors:
“Earth Day” Two “Earth Days” are observed every year, the first holiday is observed on 21 March and calls upon all people for peaceful coexistence. John Sterling Morton is considered to be the founder of Earth Day; he was the one to suggest observing a yearly day dedicated to planting tress in the surrounding areas. The proposal was warmly accepted by citizens of the state. In 1882 the Nebraska State Council initiated the Day of Tree which was observed on 22 April. In 100 years in 1970 the Day of Tree was re-named into Earth Day and was held throughout all