Shirvan National Park TripWe rented two minibuses to pick us up from Baku and take us directly INTO the park. The "INTO" emphasis is important because I believe special arrangements with SNP must be made if you want SNP to provide tours via car. The park is large and hard to navigate without any cars...if not impossible.The rented bus from BAKU to SNP was 5 AZN per person via this contact.

Belasuvar:For earth day my 7th formers are planning to plant a tree and flower garden in either the park or in the school yard. We take some class time every week to plan the project together. Students have roles and responsibilities and they are each contributing 1 AZN to buy the flowers and trees.For more information, contact Jon Elkin: jharry.elkin@gmail.comZaqatala:My kids are going to be

Like many developing countries, Azerbaijan suffers from serious environmental problems. Oil leaks into the Caspian Sea, unregulated factories pump smog into nearby communities, and trash litters the streets and common areas of rural communities. While some of these issues require drastic changes in regulation and business activity, the most visible, in fact, can be improved by a change in

We PCVs tend to spend a lot of energy and money during the winter. Here is a list of environmentally friendly pieces of advice from our PCV friends:I had worn the toes and heels out of my knee socks last year so I sewed them up and filled them with rice--we put them as draft snakes on our windowsills and the bottoms of doors. They really make a difference! --Emma aka M(r)s. Jackson

Compost and Wire-mesh Compost BinThis article concerns the making of compost using common kitchen and yard wastes and constructing a low cost, simple to build compost bin.CompostCompost is partially decomposed organic matter made from material that is easily available from every kitchen and yard. Compost is used to improve the fertility of soil, improves aeration, root penetration, water

Unifying our Action: Environmental Committee Website and Google GroupAzerbaijan’s environmental problems can seem too overwhelming for individual PCV action. Despite this feeling, individual PCVs continually work to educate Azerbaijanis on a range of environmental problems including pollution, global warming, use of pesticides, and energy use. The Environmental Committee (EC) hopes to catalogue

Environmental ProjectsBalagusar Village, GusarKelly Vosilus, AZ5 YD PCVTrash CleanupRPCV Rustin Johnson, Xacmaz, and his host organization Umid, also assisted by Kelly Vosilus, Balagusar Village, Gusar, led an environmental project in Balagusar and Hasangala Villages in the Gusar Region. Youth members in both villages were accompanied by students from The International School of Azerbaijan (TISA

A few Weeks back a review of the Barda Earthday Extravaganza was posted here on the blog. We have now posted all of the materials from that project on our sister google group, http://groups.google.com/group/ENVCOMM?hl=en. It is a step by step set of material you would need to complete a similar project. Its supper easy and fun so check it out!

Ganja Riverbed Clean UpBy: BonnieA group of Ganja youth came together to cleanup the Ganja Riverbed on a rainy day in early April 2009. The student group included university students from the economics faculty of the Azerbaijan State Agricultural University and students from the Ganja Vocational Training Center. Peace Corps Environmental Committee supplied a small incentive grant for this

Barda Earth Day ExtravaganzaBy: Meredith Ebenhack For Earth Day in Barda Bill, Lexi, Jeremy and I, along with our Azeri counterpart, Famila, hosted an environmental educational day. We picked three important topics to focus on, water conservation, energy conservation and trash disposal. We then created a 30 minute educational session on each topic focusing on the facts and practical steps they

Attention Azerbaijan Peace Corps Volunteers!!! Are you working on an environmental project? Do you need a little bit of cash for your project? If so, the environmental committee is currently offering small amounts of money (20M or less)in order to help you out. If you are interested in being considered for this please email one off the environmental committee members with a description of you

Last year a college student and I created a poster that said: “Keep Sheki Beautiful. You wouldn’t throw paper and trash on your floors at home, so please don’t throw candy wrappers, garbage and cigarette papers onto the streets or into the rivers of Sheki, which is the home of all of us.” It had a couple of photos, a local mosque and a sculpture. One day I was walking down my cobblestone street and decided to pick up some of the trash along the way. My host brother was walking the other way and saw me. He kept saying, “Yox, yox.” I kept picking things up. Later I showed my family the poster. The said they liked it, but I noticed my brother taking the trash to the river a few weeks later. The odd thing is that there is a trash pickup point down our street the opposite direction from the river. Old habits die hard. The central library let me post the anti-litter art in its window, I gave some to my college students, and I put a version in the college’s monthly newsletter. I also taped some on the stonework of bridges where people throw their trash into the rivers, but I noticed someone quickly torn them loose and discarded them. One Sunday I went to the park between my house and the college and spent and hour picking up paper trash and burning it. That mystified some of the locals walking through the park. One child came and helped me a little while, and the female gatekeeper at the college happened to walk by and said in English, “Thank you.” I’m sure the word got around that the crazy American teacher was picking up trash instead of tossing it onto the ground. A couple of months later, two teachers took their students into the park with weed broom/rakes and cleaned up and burned leaves and paper. I took pictures and a student wrote a caption to congratulate the teachers and students. We published that in the next issue of our college paper. I know that’s not much, but you have to start somewhere. When I was a boy, we drove to a marshy area near a river to throw away cans and bottles, anything we couldn’t feed to the chickens or burn in our trash barrel at home, into the water. Everyone in my community used to do that before we had trash pickup and landfills. It will take AZ another decade to get to that point. We have a few trash pickup points in Sheki, but only about 1/5 of what is needed.

GLOBAL WARMING What is global warming? Global warming is the sustained increase in the mean average temperature of the earth's atmosphere due the trapping of heat in the lower atmosphere by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and CFCs. In recent years, the rate of global warming has dramatically increased.

What or Who is responsible for Global Warming? Certain amount of global warming and cooling is a natural. The Earth has cycled through many phases of warming and cooling over the billions of years due to the greenhouse effect. There are many natural factors that contribute to the greenhouse effect but most of these occur very slowly over many millennia (thousands of years!!!!!!). In recent history, temperatures have been increasing faster than ever on a global scale that cannot be explained by these natural processes. It is now largely agreed upon in the scientific community that sense the industrial revolution global warming has dramatically increased due to human activity. Humans are releasing an exponentially larger amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the environment could ever do on its own. Every time you ride on a plane, drive a car, use electricity that is created threw fossil fuels, buy a product hat was created using fossil fuels, eat meat, rice or many other foods that are produced in non environmentally safe methods, you are contributing to global warming. HUMANS Are Causing the Present Rapid global warming. Individuals, Governments, Businesses all contribute to the Problem! What are the causes of (rapid) global warming? Causes of Global Warming Carbon Dioxide from:Fossil Fuel (cars, air plains, coal plants, any electricity you use that is generated from a source that is bases off fossil fuels) Deforestation Plants store carbon! When forests and other natural lands are destroyed they are no longer there to absorb and store carbon AND even more carbon is released back into the atmosphere when those plants die and decay. Failing Sinks (sinks – nature systems that sore large amount of carbon over thousands of years) Peat bogs, artic tundra, oceans are all sinks. Positive feedback loop amplify the changes in the climate. For example, as the earth warms destabilizes natural sinks causing them to release their carbon. This huge release of carbon will then have nothing to soak it up so it will just be in the atmosphere causing a greater amount of global warming to take place. Oceans hold 50 times as much carbon as all terrestrial plants on Earth. Increased thermal stratification of the oceans has caused substantial reductions in levels of phytoplankton, which store CO2. Increased atmospheric carbon is also causing an acidification of the ocean, since carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid when it reacts with water. The overall effect is the ocean being less able to store the ever increasing amounts of carbon being released. Methane from- created when bacteria breaks down organic material in an oxygen starved environment. It is 100 times as powerful as carbon dioxide!Cattle, goats and sheep (as food is broken down in their stomachs), Rice Paddies (organic material is trapped under water), Landfills, leakage from natural gas fields (because Methane is a component of natural gas) are all sources of Methane. The world is eating more meat than ever, rice is a staple food in many parts of the world and the more we consume the more garbage there is for landfills. the Artic Tundra Clathrates – They are huge chunks of ice at the bottom of the ocean. If temperatures rise, warming the ocean, they will melt releasing huge amounts of Methane. Nitrogen Oxides – It is a main component of fertilizer. Nitrogen oxides have 300 times more heat-trapping capacity per unit of volume than does carbon dioxide, and we release them every time we apply fertilizer to soil. Other Gases - CFCs and HCFCs (chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons) used in refrigeration are also powerful greenhouse gases. What are some of the consequences of global warming? Melting of glaciers and polar caps First, it will raise sea levels. There are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted today the seas would rise about 230 feet. Luckily, that’s not going to happen all in one go! But sea levels will rise. Second, melting ice caps will throw the global ecosystem out of balance. The ice caps are fresh water, and when they melt they will desalinate the ocean. The desalinization of the ocean will throw off regular oceanic currents, which help regulate temperatures. Third, temperature rises and changing landscapes in the artic circle will endanger several species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive. Fourth, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps are white, and reflect sunlight, much of which is reflected back into space, further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only major reflector left is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth Increased rain and snow fall Increase in Hurricanes and other extreme weather. Strong hurricanes, droughts, Floods, heat waves, wildfires, and other natural disasters may become commonplace in many parts of the world. This will be Partially dues to warmer ocean waters Water shortages When the ice caps are gone a major source of water for many people will be gone. And greater droughts and desertification will cause water shortages Increase in spread of disease Warmer weather = more disease carrying insects Ocean acidification Economic consequences The eradication of some specials of plants and animals. More than a million species face extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems, and acidifying oceans. Food shortages At some point in the future, warming could become uncontrollable due to the positive feedback effect. Rising temperatures could release additional greenhouse gases by unlocking methane in permafrost and undersea deposits, freeing carbon trapped in sea ice, and causing increased evaporation of water. Whose responsibility is it to try and stop global warning and repair damage already done? EVERYONES has a responsibility! Individuals, Governments and Business are all responsible, as they all contribute to the problem. But remember, governments and businesses are made up of INDIVIDUALS! How can YOU help to solve global warming? Here is a list of simple steps that you can take to help control global warming and reduce your impact on the environment. Get educated – The better you understand the issue the more able you will be to combat it. Vote – push your government to care about the environment too! Reduce – take a true look at the amount of resources you use everyday, and how much trash do you create in a day, and then reduce it! Reuse – before you throw something away take a close look at it – can you sue it for another purpose? For example, reuse plastic shopping bag instead of getting new ones each time you go to the market, or carry your own cloth bag and do not use plastic bags. Save jars to store things in or to use as cups. Recycle – If you have recycling facilities anywhere near you use them. Place a liter soda bottle full of water into your toilet tank. This will cause it to fill faster and use less water each time you flush.

Donate your unwanted clothes. In the bazaar now there is a used cloths section. Baku even has thrift stores! Turn off the faucet when you are brushing your teeth. Turn garden hose when you are not watering anything in particular Turn off electrical devices (lights, fans, tv, computers, etc.) when they are not in use. And be sure to eliminate phantom loads. A phantom load is caused when electrical appliances draws electricity when it isn't in use but is plugged in. about 11% of residential electricity consumption is used by "phantom loads." Use electrical surge protectors. Then, with one flick of the switch, you can make sure that the appliances plugged into your surge protectors are drawing no electricity at all. · Use “Energy Efficient” appliances, and replace old appliances with new one. You WILL save money. They will save you about a third on their energy bill with similar savings of greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing features, style or comfort

replace traditional light bulbs with energy savers such as LCD’s - compact fluorescent bulbs Check for leaks (toilets, faucets, pipes, irrigation systems, etc.) Walk, ride a bike or use public transportation whenever possible. Have showers instead of baths. Plant native and/or drought-tolerant plants. Some grasses, ground covers, shrubs and trees do not need to be watered as frequently. Buy recycles paper products or those produced form ecologically managed forests. It help save trees, conserve water, reduce trash use less paper and use paper fully Insulate and ventilate your home!!!!! Make sure doors and windows are sealed tightly. If you are running an air conditioner or heater, keep all doors and windows CLOSED! Also, instead of an air conditioner in the summer try using fans and good ventilation. Use hot water instead of cold water to wash dishes Compost biodegradable waste in your home Eat locally produced foods The less food has to travel the less fuel burned. Local, but suitable to your climate. If it is pineapple from Main it is probably less energy consuming to just have it shipped across country. · Paint your home a light color if you live in a warmer climate and a dark color if you live in a cooler climate. This can contribute saving up to 5000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. · Turn Down Your Water Heater. Just a 10° F reduction on your water heater thermostat can reduce 3% to 5% of your total energy consumption. 110-120°F is optimal · Turn down your air or heat 2-3 degrees! Change Your Thermostat by this small amount can decrease Your Carbon Footprint 2,000 lbs and save you $98! During the hot months turn the thermostat up two degrees and in the cold months turn it down two degrees. · Use your buying power!!! Buy from companies that use recycled materials and that use minimal packaging and environmentally sound practice. Eat less meat - Livestock are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than transportation is. This is due to the large amounts of petroleum used in creating ammonium nitrate fertilizer (for the corn they are fed) plus the cost of shipping that corn to the cattle and then shipping the cattle to slaughter and grocery. If one eats meat it should always be from a local source. Choosing vegetarian foods also drastically reduces agricultural water consumption and land use, and favorably impacts biodiversity. · BE AN EXAMPLE - Your Change Teaches Others Changing yourself is easy, you may say, but you're only one person-- how can you increase your ability to stop global warming? You can become a beacon for change. It is difficult to do this alone, but the more people that see the path you choose and examples you provide of what they themselves can do, the easier it will be for them to join you. In fact, the more you act publicly to prevent global warming, the more viable this alternate path becomes. As you act in your daily life in ways that help prevent global warming, you gain the visibility necessary to influence behaviors and change minds in other places, increasing your positive impact. ALSO, You will be most likely act if your contributions are public and visible to others. REMEMBER, even the largest movements are simply made up of many INDIIDUALS SMALL ACTIONS can equal BIG CHANGE All information came frOm the web sights listed below. Check them out! http://www.prlog.org/10015793-global-waming-prevention-your-personal-effort.html http://www.essortment.com/all/globalwarmingp_rbgy.htm http://www.wikihow.com/Take-Action-to-Reduce-Global-Warming http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/3GlobalWarmingPreventionTips.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/3GlobalWarmingPreventionTips.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/EasilyReduceGlobalWarmingUsingYourGasPurchasing.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/GlobalWarmingMainFactsAndMyths.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/GlobalWarmingVolunteer.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/HowToPreventGlobalWarming.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/PreventGlobalWarmingPaperRecyclingFacts.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/ResearchShowsPeopleActToUndoGlobalWarmingIf.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/Save168andDecrease2700Pounds.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/Articles/TheGlobalWarmingRevolutionWillBeSolarized.html http://www.acoolerclimate.com/causes-of-global-warming.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_global_warming http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/index.html http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/effects-of-global-warming-999.html http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/facts_and_figures

Duration: 4 days

Purpose: Raise environmental awareness in one’s own community

Form: 5-8th*

Time: 1-2 hours each day

PCVs: At least 2, maybe more if you have a large group

*We used a 7th former to help with translation

Day 1: General Information

Educational Jeopardy/Discussion

Materials: Jeopardy Board

Divide kids into 2 teams.

Give kids 1-2 min to give their answer

Discuss the answers and spend extra time on the ones they got wrong

Environmental Jeopardy Categories and Questions

Trash:

How long does it take?

Plastic Bag - 50+ years

Glass Bottle - 1,000,000+ years

Cigarette Butt - 2-5 years

Plastic Bottle - 450-800 eyars

Rubber - 50-80 years

Pollution:

What pollutes the air? (cars, factories, burning trash)

What pollutes the water? (trash in water, oil, chemicals, sewage)

Why is burning your trash bad?

Why is water pollution bad?

How do you prevent pollution? (reduce/reuse/recycle, don’t litter, cleaner power aka solar, wind, pick up trash, talk about not littering)

Solutions:

You go to Dashkasan and you see a Chiko semochka bag on the ground. What do you do?

You see your uncle throwing a bucket of trash in the local river. What do you do?

After drinking a coke, your best friend, throws the bottle out of the marshrutka window. What do you say to him/her?

You finish a bottle of Fanta and now you have a bottle. What can you do with it besides throwing it away?

How can you educate your friends about the environment?

Day 2: Recycle Art

Materials: plastic bottles, old magazines, glue, yarn, scissors, etc.

There are a ton of things you can make from every day trash, you can make kids bring their own on pre-plan an activity. In Barda we made mobiles.

All you need is sticks, yarn and old newspapers or magazines.

Have kids work individually and encourage creativity.

Share everyone’s work in the end

Day 3: Environmental Walk/Scavenger Hunt

Materials: Checklist for scavenger hunt, prizes

Identify an area in or around your community where you can take the children.

Go to the area a day before the planned walk and outline a rough route.

Pick out items on the walk for kids to identify (broken bottle, 4 leaf-clover, etc

Divide the kids in teams with a PCV as each group leader.

Have kids find as many items on their scavenger list and have the group leader/PCV check the items off.

After you finish, have a brief discussion of what you saw and what we can do to improve or keep the area the same

Day 4: Clean Up/Picnic

Materials: Plastic bags (we used plastic bags to collect the trash in and put over our hands instead of gloves); hand sanitizer

Identify a small area to clean, as a group clean, the area for at least 30 min

Have a celebratory picnic (have each kid bring something, etc)

Notes from the Barda camp:

We had 12 kids show between the ages of 10 and 13 and we also got a 7th former to come and help us translate. We did our camp at the local “Usaq Park” and did our lessons and activities in and around it. For the nature walk, we went to the Barda forest which has a lot of cool looking trees and also a ton of trash piles everywhere. We had kids look for specific trees, leaves, bottles, syringes, birds, bugs and other pieces of trash. For the picnic we picked out the items we wanted and had kids sign up for what they’ll bring during the 2nd day of camp so they have enough time to get it done. All in all the kids had a ton of fun and so did we! Good luck!

The Environmental Committee is looking for a new member!

As AZ4 prepares to close out their service, the Environmental Committee is looking to fill their place with a new member from AZ5. Our mission is to “Raise PCV and staff awareness of environmental issues in order to encourage a positive change in environment of Azerbaijan.” If you are interested in applying, check your email for the application questions, or check out our blog at envcommaz.blogspot.com. The new member will join Kat Zigmont (AZ5 CED, Goychay) and Jeff Bailey (AZ5, TEFL, Ujar) in our attempt to strengthen the growing committee. The Environmental Committee was founded by Ina Arnaoudova (AZ4, TEFL, Barda) to try to do something about the environmental problems facing Azerbaijan. She was joined by Sarah Choy (AZ4, CED, Barda), Jenny Groza (AZ4, TEFL, Tovuz), and Mike Lee (AZ4, CED, Mingechevir), all of whom worked hard to create resources for volunteers to use when working on environmental issues. If you are interested in working with the committee, have any other questions about what we do, or have an issue you would like us to discuss, email us at envcommaz@googlegroups.com

If you are in AZ5 and interested in applying please submit to us answers to the following questions by July 7th:

Why do you want to be on the Environmental Committee?What environmental problems are realistic for volunteers to tackle?How do you think the environmental committee can assist PCVs in HCN education and mobilization?What background do you have which will assist your role as an environmental committee member?What project ideas have you had or implemented within your community or organization?Earth Day 2008: Theory and Practice

Volunteers throughout Azerbaijan participated in the Earth Day Program this year, establishing a wonderful tradition of creating environmental awareness and promoting volunteerism. Not sure if your community will be receptive to environmental activities? Think again. Armed with resources provided by the Environmental Committee as well their own determination and perseverance, PC volunteers in all corners of Azerbaijan participated in the Earth Day Program 2008. The Program involved environmental based lesson plans as well as various activities with their local community members.

Check out THIS lesson plan to use in your classroom/club at anytime.

Congratulations winners!

Sheep in a Field made of recycled materials by Roya Afandiyeva, Zaqatala

Flower Vase made by Sevinj Hajiyeva, Zaqatala

Flower embroidery made by E. Nagi, Agdam Rayon IDP settlement

All winners received an art kit and will be published in the next issue of the AzLander. Thank you to all PCV's and students who participated.

Kindergarten Garden

by Sarah Choy (AZ 4)

In late winter I planted celery, carrot, lettuce and bean seeds in old NIDO cans and plastic water bottles. I then started planning a few lessons involving organic gardening with the local preschool I work with for my art enrichment program.

I cut up several plastic bottles for potters, bought beans from the bazaar, collected some dirt from the school yard and helped the children plant their own beans. I instructed them to watering their beans every other day and the amount of water that would be enough for the plant. We placed our potters on the window sill to get optimum sun exposure essential for healthy growth.

I told them that we will be growing our beans naturally and without any grown boosting agents. I then spoke to them about the importance of worms in creating good soil for our future garden. I later informed them that when our beans get big enough we will be able to transplant them into a garden I planned to build.

After 2 weeks the children’s beans weren’t showing any signs of growth. However the beans I had potted were about 3 inches high. But, I had faith that their beans would grow eventually. After our drawing lesson on BUGS, I went out into the school yard with my shovel and started digging a spot for our bean garden. The school director came out, as well as several of IDPs living in the school yard, and watched me for a while then later ventured into conversation with me about what I was doing. I slowly explained to them that I was planning a garden for the children and that I was teaching them about the environment. They watched my site mate Mere and I dig our child size grave of a garden space, lug blocks and rocks we scouted around the preschool grounds to build a wall, and dig up worms to keep for composting whilst speaking about things I was unable understand.

After Novrus holiday I looked at the children’s beans and was happy to see that they all had sprouted. It was time to transplant our bean sprouts. I took the children outside and taught them to dig a hole deep enough to support the sprouts height and to cover the roots. Then I demonstrated how to transplant their bean sprouts. I topped off the garden with a sign I made listing all the children in my class, most of which I haven’t seen during the winter months, protected it with Scotch, tied it to some twigs and roof tile and stuck it into the garden. Everyone was all smiles and giggles when we were done.

Later that week I planted a row of carrots, celery and lettuce in the garden and made a spot for the worms that I’ve been feeding coffee grinds, egg shells and apple cores. The children have been designated responsibility and ownership for the care of our garden and I’m surprise at how well the bean sprouts are doing. But, we have yet to see any beans growing. Once that occurs we can pick them, along with the other veggies, and make organic salads in class. Yay!

Imishli’s Environment and Health Global Youth Service Day Project

by Amber Dismer (AZ 5)

Situation:

Pollution of the Araz River is a growing problem in Imishli, with residents dumping trash, food scraps, and plastics and metals in the canal feeding the river. The canal is a main water source for city animals (goats, cows, chickens, and sheep), crop irrigation for local residents, and is used as drinking, bathing, and cooking water in the winter when the pipes freeze. The Ministry of Ecology believes this is a major health problem for Imishli residents. Twelve students and two teachers from Imishli School numbers 1 and 5 became aware of the situation and wanted to motivate their peers to clean up the canal.

Response:

Imishli’s youth group of 6th and 8th form students led an Environment and Health project for Global Youth Service Day. The students involved are Leman Qarashlu and Necef Huseynov from school 5, Nergiz Aliyeva, Zamin Balakesheyev, Iftixar Talible, Tamerlan Akberov, Taciye Imanova, Ayten Seyfullazady, Aysel Farzaliyava, and Xezer Abbasov from school 1. Imishli youth met in January to discuss project ideas and in April almost every day for three weeks to plan the cleanup of the canal, concert celebration, and lunch. Youth volunteers met with representatives from Imishli’s ExCom, Ministry of Education, Tourism and Culture, Ecology, Youth and Sport, and Health, Local Municipality, Azerbaijan Rural Investment Project, Development 2006 Social Support Public Association, Finca, Imishli Sugar Factory, International Bank of Azerbaijan, Dalga, World Vision Azerbaijan, Capital Bank, and local newspapers to ask for support and participation.

Walt Disney, an American organization, awarded the project 410 manat. These funds are still in the process of being transferred; in the meantime, various kind store owners allowed youth to take project supplies on credit. Youth also utilized available community resources to implement the project. Fizuli Abiyev and Mehman Meheiyev, Development 2006 Social Support Public Association representatives and Metanat Humbatova, and English teacher from school 1, provided two trainings on how to plan a community project and provided professional connections within the community to establish trust. Nizami Halinov, Head of Imishli’s ExCom agreed to speak on behalf of the canal cleanup. Halinov volunteered to donate local media coverage and trash removal services. Hasil Tagiyev, Minister of Culture and Tourism, gave youth leaders free access to Imishli’s Concert Hall. Directors from Imishli Schools 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 allowed youth volunteers class time to inform and encourage their peers to participate.

Results:

On April 27th 160 people volunteered to clean the canal and 210 people attended the celebratory concert. Youth, adults, and businesses’ awareness of environmental and health problems will lead to a change in their behavior and future dialogues. Youth mobilized their community to volunteer! Volunteerism promotes community involvement and ownership without financial compensation. This is youth development at its core! Youth also developed active leadership, decision making, and communication skills. Imishli residents and organizations recognized the value of youth as active leaders in their community. Imishli’s Sugar Factory donated 150 manat for the design and production of environmental awareness signs that will be posted along the canal. Youth believe these actions are a positive step towards changing the community’s behavior and actions. Additionally, three organizations have shown interest in future youth development projects. This process inspired youth to continue their efforts in making Imishli’s community a better place to live!

Paper: 2-4 weeks Rubber boot sole: 50-80 years Banana peel: 3-5 weeks Tin can: 80-100 years Wool cap: 1 year Aluminum can: 200-400 years Cigarette butt: 2-5 years Plastic six-pack holder: 450 years Disposable diaper: 10 to 20 years Glass bottles: Millions of years Hard plastic container: 20 to 30 years http://www.w9dg.com/tchleavenotrace/033_dispose.html

Project Name: The Healthy Living Bike Action Campaign

PCV/Counterpart: Rob Gregor (AZ4)/ Bridge to The Future Youth Union

Grant Type: Small Projects Assistance (SPA)

Grant Amount: $3529.75

Project Summary:

The Healthy Living Bike Action Campaign will encourage the people (and specifically the young people) of Ganja to live a healthier, more active and more environmentally friendly lifestyle. The main component will be conducting presentations at all of the schools in Ganja to teach participants about the importance of being environmentally aware, maintaining a healthy diet, exercising daily and not smoking; participants will be taught simple and specific ways to infuse healthier choices into their daily lives. Presenters will gain widespread attention as they will lead by example in employing bicycles as their primary means of transportation for the duration of the actions.

Goals and Objectives:

Goal 1: Promote a healthier lifestyle

Objective 1: To encourage students to make healthy dietary choices through the introduction of a food pyramid and basic nutritional information. Following the presentation, our hope is that at least 50% of the students will be able to recognize, label, and understand a food pyramid. Objective 2: To raise awareness about the negative health consequences of smoking. Following the presentation, our goal is that at least 75% of the students in attendance will be able to identify three diseases (and their symptoms) known to be caused by smoking. Objective 3: To explain the potential health benefits of exercise and offer specific suggestions for incorporating exercise into daily routines. Following the presentation, our goal is that at least 75% of students will be able to list at least two ways they can incorporate daily exercise into their lives (e.g. walking or biking to school instead of driving a car, playing football after school).Goal 2: Promote a Clean Environment

Objective 1: To illustrate how burning fossil fuels / emitting carbon affects the environment and offer specific suggestions for simple choices that can be made to reduce an individuals “environmental footprint.” Following the presentation, our goal is that 50% of students in attendance will be able to identify three environmental consequences of emitting carbons / burning fossil fuels and 75% of students in attendance will be able to identify three positive outcomes of riding a bike or walking.

For more information or to view the complete grant information, contact us.

Did you know that Baku was named the dirtiest city in the world?

Committee News The Environmental Blog is up with helpful websites, lesson plans and updates. Find it at: http://envcommaz.blogspot.comEnvironmental resources have been put in the lounge. We are working on organizing and making them available to PCVs.To contact the committee you no longer need to email each of us individually. Our group email is: ENVCOMM@gmail.comCheck out our blog for information on the environmental Trans-Caucus Effort2 new members from AZ5 will be selected this SUMMER, so expect applications in the coming months

Earth Day Plan

The Environmental Committee has created a simple plan for PCVs to follow for Earth Day (April 22nd). It's designed to help you lead small environmental activities in your community in honor of Earth Day. Attached are several lesson plans, a clean-up guide, and art project ideas to help you educate students and community members.

We thought a good way to get PCVs and their communities involved would be to hold a Nationwide Earth Day Art Contest. The attached posters outline the rules and should be used to announce the contest at schools, community centers, etc. Hard copies of the newsletter and the posters will also be included in your next bi-weekly mailer. The goal of the art contest is to inspire young people to think critically and creatively about Azerbaijan's environment: the good as well as the bad. Depending on the number of entries received, it will be up to you to pick the local winners and forward the best entries to the committee member nearest you. National winners will be picked at our meeting in early May. Timetable:

Art Contest - Start Early! Introduce the contest ASAP and encourage students/community members to participate.

Earth Day Week – Use an environmental lesson/activity in your classes, and introduce the idea of doing a clean up. Collect final contest entries.

Weekend after Earth Day (April 26th) – Do a trash pick-up activity

The anticipated goal of the Earth Day Plan is to provide PCVs with simple ways to involve their communities in environmental activities in honor of Earth Day. Please email us (envcomm@gmail.com) if you choose to participate in order for us to get feedback on your outcomes.You can download PC Azerbaijan developed Earth activities HERE

This is a letter from a fellow PCV in Georgia who wants to collaborate with other Caucus contries on projects. The initiative is very new, so if you are interested, have ideas, or want to hear ideas, feel free to contact Julien:

Dear fellow PCV's,

Thank you for your rapid responses! Even though this idea is in its very beginning stages, the interest level and excitement in your emails shows that this will hopefully be a fantastic opportunity for all of us in the region. All three countries are active in environmental projects on some level, but all are at different points in their program developments. For example, I believe that PC Armenia has had the longest running environmental program, and PC Azerbaijan has begun activities within the last 2 years. We here in Georgia have been active since 2003, but are currently designing a new 3-year plan for our Eco-Project.

There are opportunities for cooperation on many levels, and I'd like to see what issues you would like to see discussed, as well as your ideas for the size and scope of this possible cooperation. To this end, I've thrown together a rapid survey for you to complete. Feel free to include whatever information you think would be helpful for the group (past or current project descriptions, photos, active NGOs, report links, etc.) for all of us to become better educated with the collective state of the environment in the Southern Caucuses.

I've gotten us started by creating a Google Group, where we will hopefully be able to easily communicate (when some of us get Internet opportunities!) This group can be found here:

http://groups.google.com/group/southcaucasuseco

As a disclaimer, I hasten to add that I'm not too experienced with Google Groups, so if you run into any problems, just shoot me an email, and we'll try to figure it out together. I've started us off by uploading a poster that I think you might find helpful/interesting, and I'm exited to learn more about the region from all of you.

Attached, you'll find the aforementioned survey, so please take some time and fill it out. You can just send me (julien.katchinoff@gmail.com) the completed surveys, and I'll compile the information for all to see in a couple weeks. We here in Georgia have a tentative Eco-Meeting on the 22nd, so at the risk of seeming to boss the other countries around, if those could be returned by the 15th of March, we would greatly appreciate it. :)

Keep warm at site, and thanks for your help,

Julien

Hey all,

Expect our quarterly newsletter towards the middle of this month. If you are getting anxious about activates and lesson plans, here are some great sites to keep you busy:

http://www.edhelper.com/EarthDay.htm - Earth Day Analogies, Coloring Activities, Puzzles, Mazes, Games, Form Specific Activities and more!

http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/earthday.php - Lessons, Worksheets, Information Handouts

http://earthday.wilderness.org/teachers/classroom.htm#1 - Great Classroom Activities and Printouts

Welcome to the Environmental Blog! This is the place to come for general information, lesson plans, cool websites, and anything environmentally helpful we could find. Enjoy! Please feel free to comment on anything and tell us what you need!

Sincerely,

ENVCOMM

Lesson plan websites:

http://pcukraine.org/materials/materials.php?topic=Environment

http://www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200603/LewinactivitiesBTJ.asp

http://www.eslflow.com/environmentlessonplans.html

http://iteslj.org/questions/environment.html

http://www.journal,naeyc.org/btj/200603/LewinactivitiesBTJ.asp