Russia

The Month of Energy Saving - 2011 covered more than 40 educational institutions of Moscow and Moscow region. SPARE school and the members of the Moscow Energy Teams helped single veterans and pensioners to insulate apartments, set garbage- sorting waste containers, changed conventional light bulbs into energy saving ones and explained the residents of the capital how to conduct their own energy audit of the premises.

SPARE-Net CFA RF devoted the month of energy to the training of new schools and colleges in the region with theoretical and practical skills in energy saving. For this purpose 6 workshops, 8 tours, 4 art-actions, 8 days of activity of 4 energy teams were organized.

Students of colleges and universities helped to insulate Moscow apartment of 28 elderly people living alone - war and labor veterans. In November 2011 active SPARE-participants organized collection of waste batteries in the school and delivered them to points of recycling and also replaced light bulbs in the school for energy-saving bulbs.

In St.Petersburg 20 of October the SPARE seminar gathered SPARE NGOs and their partners from all over Russia — from Russian Far East to North-West Russia. Participants shared their experience in climate/energy education, new educational forms and materials, cooperation with state and business, oriented to energy efficiency. Seminar participants discussed development of information work for promotion of practical solutions on energy efficiency and energy saving.

St. Petersburg hosted All-Russian seminar on October 26. It was attended by representatives of SPARE, NGOs and their partners involved in the education on the climate and energy. Participants shared their experiences of education programs, collaboration with government and business structures, discussed the development of information on climate and energy efficiency and promotion of practical projects.

Forum Youth Climate Movement Powershift Russia (Energy Changes) held on 23-25 September 2011 in Moscow, as part of the marathon «LocalFest — do himself». Natalia Belokopytova, leader of the movement, invited an active group of program SPARE Moscow and Central Federal District of Russia to take part in the organization of business games, exhibitions, posters and presentations at the Forum. Activity programs SPARE helped the Forum to get innovative methods of action on «climate» and learn about the practices of schoolchildren.

Members of the Methodological Board of Bryansk Regional Public Organization "Viola" conducted master classes: "Prepare bright stock of the program SPARE!" for teachers and students of humanitarian Bulgarian gymnasium named after Saints Cyril and Methodius (school-SPARE, Veliko Tarnovo). Master classes were held on September 18-19, 2011 on the basis and with the support of school-SPARE high school № 1, Bryansk.

Elena Zhukova, head of the youth group of Russian NGO "Viola", a student at Moscow State Law Academy named after O. Kutafin, led a group of Russian participants in International Youth Education and Environmental Camps and II School of the young environmentalist "Ecology of the Commonwealth" CIS countries (Belarus). International events held in the Berezinsky Reserve (Belarus), September 19-25, 2011. The basis of their activities were workshops “SPARE sustainable development”.

The first Russian-Bulgarian-Climatic SPARE Festival we held in May 2010 in Veliko Turnovo (Bulgaria). And 16-19 September 2011 Bryansk (Russia) hosted the second such Festival. In addition to Russia and Bulgaria, took part and the school-SPARE Belarus. Principals CFD Russian Federation, representatives of the Bryansk Institute of Professional Educators, NGOs Central Federal District of Russia, business leaders, working in energy efficiency programs, members RSEU were participants of the Festival. The program included presentations, business games, defense projects, awards, team work and much more. Organized and conducted the Festival of the members of NGO "Viola."

The 3rd of September in the famous Tavricheskij garden of St.Petersburg Friends of the Baltic NGO announced SPARE actions for the new school year to schoolchildren, coming to St,Petersburg Day of Environmental Knowledge. Pupils have known about competition ”Energy and Environment”, Energy Saving Day, excursions and lessons on climate and energy, provided by Friends of the Baltic.

On 6th of September in St.Petersburg Ecocentrum NGO Friends of the Baltic announced to teachers calendar of SPARE events and discussed project development in the coming school year. More than 90 schools of St.Petersburg and Leningrad oblast participate in various SPARE events — competition, Energy Saving Day, practical actions.

23.11.2009 The Russian government passed the Federal Law N 261-FZ "On energy saving and energy efficiency improvements and amendments to some legislative acts of the Russian Federation." Schools-SPARE city of Bryansk in August-September 2011 conducted energy audits of schools, brainstorming, round-table discussions with employees of local businesses already really working in the field of energy efficiency, and now help each institution of the city to develop long-term plan for energy efficiency.

29-30 August 2011 NGO "Viola" conducted training summer workshop for young leaders SPARE Bryansk and Moscow region. Methods of art events, exhibitions to promote the program SPARE, field seminars, work with neighborhood residents have been tested in practice. Each participant of the seminar will actively work to SPARE by more than 10 new schools in 2011-2012 academic year CFA.

22-26 of August NGO representatives from European countries met at the INFORSE-Europe energy seminar in Hamburg. The new achievements of SPARE-International, prospects for development energy education, and possibility of other countries to join the project were the key issues for discussion at the educational session of the seminar.

International seminar and annual coordination meeting, devoted to the SPARE development in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia took place 27-29 of May in Ukraine. Participants discussed development of educational materials for schoolchildren, domestic practical project on renewable energy and energy efficiency, NGO capacity building and involvement to national energy policy.

NGO "Viola" initiated, created and develops joint activities of the energy-SPARE school teams from Russia, Belarus and Bulgaria. We use letters, Skype, video greetings, newsgroups and general meetings. In April 2011, these schools created a Network of the energy-SPARE school teams. The motto was: "Without friends and me just a little while with my friends a lot”.

Moscow teams working in the SPARE program actively celebrated the Energy Saving Day 11.11.2010. SPARE — is a program for students and adults. But in Moscow, kids, colleges and universities joined the program SPARE. Kinds of activities devoted to energy saving were very diverse: trips to the power station, monitoring of buildings, workshops, business games, poster competitions.

Active collaboration of NGO organizations "Viola" - SPARE Coordinator in the CFD of Russian Federation and vice-president of the International Academy of Informatization, Professor V. Shinkarenko helps colleges of Moscow to actively involve in the program SPARE not only on Nov. 11, 2010.

Non-governmental organizations of Murmansk and St.Petersburg regions held a meetings in Apatity and in Murmansk to exchange material and experience for promotion of climate/energy education and practical solutions. NGO SPARE meeting were held within the media tour “Green Energy Against Climate Change” in Murmansk region organized by RSEU Climate Secretariat, Friends of the Baltic NGO, and Kola Environmental Center.

More and more schools of the CFD RF are schools-SPARE schools. The program SPARE shows children from different countries the issue of nuclear power and the real possibility of power of the plants using alternative, environmentally-friendly forms of energy. Therefore, students of the Bryansk region on the basis SPARE Center NGO «Viola» decided to lend a helping hand to children in Japan, distressed by the accident at Fukushima. Basic SPARE- school in our district is Gymnasium № 1 of Bryansk region initiated the program " We are with you, children of Japan«.

By the order of Moscow Department of Education the text books for teachers «Learning to be thrifty " and " Electricity in our homes " were published. The authors – Alexander Fedorov and Olga Senova – used SPARE materials as a basis for content of this publication.

Bryansk regional non-governmental organization "Viola" suggested all the educational institutions in the Central Federal District conducting an entire program for energy saving and its extention from 10/10/2010 (the "International Day of Climate Action") to 11/11/2010 ("Energy Saving Day"). During this period the schools of Bryansk, Kursk, Orel, Moscow Regions, held art actions, some practical affairs, training conferences and teleconferences on the site with Australia, Bulgaria, the United States.

From July 8 to 16 Friends of the Baltic held a number of presentations of SPARE for teachers and public organizations in Kaliningrad region (the western enclave of Russia), in Lithuania and Poland, discussed local climate-friendly energy solutions, shared their experience of energy saving in residential areas and schools as part of the international public environmental bicycle campaign «Sea-Nature-Energy».

23-24 of June SPARE coordinators from 10 Russian regions gathered together to the annual meeting/seminar to discuss project development, SPARE integration to the state educational system, schoolchildren activity for raising public awareness on climate change and low-carbon local solutions, application of simple energy saving measures on the local level.

On May 28th to 31st an international semonar on the development of the SPARE project took place in Minsk. An important theme of the workshop was the integration of SPARE project into the state education systems in the participants’ countries, as well as practical solutions for energy saving. Participants visited a straw house and a multistory house that was built with energy-saving technologies and was recommended as a model for construction in Belarus.

In May 2010 trip SPARE-delegation of children and teachers from the Central region of Russia took place in school - SPARE, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. The trip was successful and helped to identify the following positive steps in the development of relations school-SPARE different countries.

OrganizersOn April 2nd and 3rd 2010 a seminar “Climate, energy, human” was organized in Vologda by Gaia (Cola coordination center, SPARE coordinator in Murmansk region) and environmental public organizations of Vologda and Arkchangelsk region/ The seminar was dedicated to the issues of climate change and energy efficiency. The conference’s participants discussed the consciences of climate change in Vologda region and agreed that it is necessary to act both to adapt to climate change and to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. Protection of nature and people’s natural livelihoods requires joint actions by public, authorities and specialist in different areas.

In St. Petersburg Ecocentrum on April 9 representatives of SPARE org-committee and Friends of the Baltic NGO met specialists of energy supply company Petroelectrosbyt. Energy service companies are planning to open an educational center for the conservation of electricity in the houses. This is a step towards the implementation of Federal Law «On energy saving...» http://rusecounion.ru/ang_energy2129, adopted in 2009. Forms of cooperation in education for schoolchildren and housing associations were discussed at the meetings.