The fall season of SIBUR's reforestation and climate-action program, The Green Formula, kicks off on the Amur GCC's eco-trail

11 september 2023

The fall saplings planting season got a head start in Svobodny with a volunteering campaign implemented as part of SIBUR's Green Formula reforestation and climate-action program. Local residents took part in planting some 3,000 pine saplings while tending to the pine trees that had been planted earlier in spring on the grounds of what was once known as the Amur Experimental Forestry Station's Arboretum that last year became home to Amur Gas Chemical Complex's eco-trail.

The campaign brought over 120 residents of Belogorsk, Blagoveshchensk, Svobodny and Svobodnensky District, including corporate volunteers from the Amur Office of the National Corporate Volunteering Council, or NCVC.
  
Oleg Dokashenko, Manager of Government Relations and Socio-Economic Projects, Amur GCC: 
We are particularly pleased to see that our volunteering campaigns to plant pine saplings in Svobodny under the umbrella of the Green Formula reforestation and climate-action program attract not only SIBUR's own employees, but also local organizations that seem to share our company's sustainability values, including those related to environmental conservation and climate impact reduction. By joining hands, we will together build a healthy environment and a sustainable future.

Ahead of the event's launch, its attendees were addressed by Vladimir Pivovarov, a guest expert who had dedicated more than fifty years of his career to studying the introduction and establishment of arboreal plants on the grounds of the ex-arboretum of the Amur Experimental Forestry Station. During his master class, he shared his tips for planting young saplings of common pine and discussed the importance of taking care of previously planted young trees as these tending measures, among other things, are known to determine the survival rate and further growth of the saplings.

Timur Zaryaev, Expert, Amur Gas Chemical Complex: 
Our family really enjoyed taking part in this event! There was so much positivity in the air brought about by the opportunity to do something nice and good. The friendly atmosphere we saw among the participating volunteers was palpable and very enjoyable. My child is already asking me: "When are we going back again?", so we will look forward to responding to the next invitation!

Anastasia Dudnik, electromechanical technician, Russian Railways' Belogorsk Regional Communications Center:
As always, the event's organization was top-notch! Everything was clearly explained. This is my third campaign of this kind, and this time it was more arduous effort-wise. But every time we spotted a pine seedling in the tall grass, there was no limit to our joy. As we joked with the other team members, we had never been so happy to discover a plant in the thick of overgrown weeds! A colleague of mine took part in this campaign for the first time, which is another good thing that I can think of. She is from Svobodny and this means that my persistent messaging about the upcoming event had paid off!

In parallel, the participants of this volunteering campaign were able to take part in separate collection of recyclable plastic waste. This initiative was carried out in cooperation with the regional non-profit organization RazDelniy Sbor (Separate Waste Collection). Thanks to this side event, more than a hundred PET bottles and plastic caps were collected and delivered to a local collector of recyclable materials, Sole Proprietor Dorovskikh from Surazhevka. 

Galina Bogdanova, Leading Expert, Amur Oblast's Branch of the Russian Federation Pension and Social Insurance Fund: 
This was the first time we took part in a Green Formula campaign together with our children. We view this as a small seed of kindness that will help our children learn to do something good and kind. Positive emotions and good memories stay with you for the longest time. They make you realize that there are people out there who care about what is happening to our planet. I really liked how the campaign was organized, everything was well thought through down to the finest detail. Thank you for arranging such necessary programs. Keep up the good work, and we will be there with you!

Anastasia Kopeikina, Engineer, MTS branch in Blagoveshchensk:
I really enjoyed it all! I was particularly pleased to see that 98% of the pine trees that had been planted in May have taken root, and it was so enjoyable to tidy them up, remove all the weeds, and offer the plants a chance to keep on growing. Everyone has contributed a great deal! I suppose nature was very thankful to all of us. 

Overall, since the launch, in 2022, of the Green Formula reforestation and climate-action program, Svobodny and Amur Oblast’s Svobodnensky District have seen a total of 25,700 common pine saplings planted on an area of 6.75 hectares with some of plants ending up included in the forest stock of Amur GCC's eco-trail that is open to the public all year round.

Anastasia Piskun, Interpreter (Russian-Chinese), Nine One One company :
First of all, I would like to express my huge thanks to the campaign's organizers! It is really fantastic that you encourage people to volunteer and cultivate a taste for a healthy relationship with nature. I was happy to spend my Saturday afternoon outdoors amidst caring, enthusiastic and cheerful people. Together with my team, we planted pine saplings, and quite successfully, in my humble opinion! We finished planting our own furrow and then helped 3 or 4 other teams. There was a lot of interesting and useful information shared, as well as many positive and warm interactions. Thank you for a marvelous day and for your hard work! I would be very happy to join the campaign again!