Greenworks Ukraine: Clean Rivers

Greetings all,

Earlier in the year, the Clean Rivers team, led by Dr. Ihor Bubniak, took multiple trips to the Sukel' River in the Carpathian Mountains to build relationships with the locals, including mill operators, colleges, and scouting organizations across a number of towns along the river.  The primary work during this time was to identify sources of pollution in the Sukel' River basin.  In addition to diffuse pollution from industry and household waste disposal, they also identified a number of illegal dumps, which they mapped.  Along the way, they also identified and mapped interesting land forms that would be beneficial for geotourism in the region.

The summer was a bit quieter, as this is an academic project and students were on summer holiday.  However, with the beginning of a new school year, students and professors are back in the lab and back in the field.  Recently, Dr. Bubniak and his students returned to Bukovets to sample the waters and soils around the river to determine the nature of the pollution impacting the river and its surroundings.  With these results, they'll be able to determine next steps to take in the project.

As always, thank you for your generous support of our projects, including this important work in Ukraine!

With gratitude,

Lev

Greetings all,

Since the start of the Greenworks Ukraine project, our colleagues have been incredibly busy.  Over the past few months, Ihor, Andrij, Anatolii, and Kateryna have explored up and down the Sukel' River around the town of Bolekhiv, identifying illegal dumping sites, cataloguing potential geotourism sites, and talking with local stakeholders, including sawmill operators, mayors, and students and professors from the Precarpathian Professional College of Forestry and Tourism.  This has taken place over multiple visits, about once a month.  They are working hard to build a community around the project so that it is easier to maintain in future years.  They send many thanks for your financial support of their work!

With gratitude,

Lev