The winners of the "ProEco" educational program were awarded at the House of National Unity.

      30 November 2025 12:39 Society

      On November 26 in Nizhny Novgorod the winners of the second season of the educational program "ProEco" were awarded. The main goal of the program is to cultivate environmental awareness and a responsible attitude toward the environment among children and youth, which aligns with the objectives of the national project "Environmental Well-being." The organizer is the House of National Unity with the support of the regional government.

      Over the course of one and a half months, more than 250 schoolchildren and college and technical school students from the Nizhny Novgorod region aged 14 to 18 learned social project design and created their own projects addressing various environmental problems.

      At the ceremonial final event, Nikolay Kostyukovich, Deputy Minister of Internal Regional and Municipal Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, noted the significance of the "ProEco" project, thanked the young people for their work, and presented all participants with diplomas for successfully completing the program.

      Winners were chosen in three categories. In the "EcoInnovation" category the best was the team from Gymnasium No. 1 in the settlement of Mulino with the project "EcoVoice." In the "EcoTerritory" category the winner was the team from the Northern Secondary School of the Varnavinsky Municipal District with the project "Environmental Route ‘Untrodden Paths’." In the "EcoEducation" category — School No. 119 of Nizhny Novgorod with the project "Environmental Board Game ‘Duck Landing. Mission: EcoLOGICAL’." The winners received valuable prizes and diplomas.

      “We developed a board game that will help students deepen their knowledge of ecology and help their region. The goal of the game is to complete all the ecological missions, that is, the problems faced by the Nizhny Novgorod Region. By completing the tasks, students develop creativity, broaden their horizons, and remember ways to solve environmental problems,” said Elena Shchipakina, a student of School No. 119.

      Projects were evaluated by an expert jury that also included Alexey Groza, director of the natural and cultural center "Artemovskie Meadows."

      “In my view, the 'ProEco' project is very practical and useful for the Nizhny Novgorod Region. It’s a good impetus for young people. It was heartening to see the children's bright eyes when they defended their projects. The kids are all competent and showed a good level. From our side we suggested how and what could be improved, but initially all the projects are quite viable,” shared Alexey Groza.

      The winning projects will be implemented in 2026 with the support of the House of National Unity.

      “The 'ProEco' program showed how interested young people are in ecology. It is very important that youth are engaged in these issues. Environmental education today should concern people of all ages, but the future of the planet is, of course, linked to the younger generation. They will have to solve both the problems that exist today and those that will arise in the future. Congratulations to the winners and all participants! I believe the project was useful for every team,” said Roman Koshelev, head of the House of National Unity.

      At the event the youngsters took part in master classes and spoke with popular eco-blogger, author and host of the project "Sortirovochnaya," Zhora Kavanosyan.

      Recall that since 2025, by order of President Vladimir Putin, the national project "Environmental Well-being" has been in effect in Russia, carrying out tasks previously provided for under the national project "Ecology." The new national project envisages caring for the environment and improving its comfort for people's lives. Work will be carried out across several areas at once: creating infrastructure for waste sorting and recycling, eliminating landfills and cleaning water bodies, preserving forests, reducing atmospheric emissions, as well as developing eco-tourism and conserving rare animal species. The national project includes six federal projects: "General Cleanup," "Water of Russia," "Preservation of Biodiversity and Development of Ecotourism," "Forest Conservation," "Circular Economy," and "Clean Air."

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