U.S. Consulate General Celebrates Earth Day

2009/04/22

Consul General and members of Ecos

On April 22, the U.S. Consulate General in Yekaterinburg held several events devoted to Earth Day, the annual international celebration that promotes environmental awareness and responsibility.

Consul General Tim Sandusky visited Yekaterinburg School #159 at the invitation of the Ecology Teachers Association. The school has a strong natural science component in its curriculum and provides opportunities for the development of environmental activism of its pupils. The Consul General told the students about his personal involvement in Earth Day activities and encouraged them to take personal responsibility for caring for the planet.

Later that day the Consulate General participated in a joint digital video conference with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow for a discussion of environmental issues. A diverse group of NGO leaders, government officials, business representatives and foreign diplomats from Yekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk oblast took part in the discussion. The professionals were eager to explore ideas for cooperation in protecting the environment. There was a common feeling that a joint effort could make a difference, and that the time for working public-private partnerships has arrived.

The Consulate General’s Earth Day celebrations concluded with an evening of poetry and film at the Ural Writers Museum, located in Yekaterinburg’s Literary Quarter neighborhood. School children and university students recited poems about the environment and man’s relationship to nature. Vice Consul Christopher Van Bebber delighted the audience with his thought-provoking documentary film featuring the breathtaking natural beauty of America’s Glen Canyon, and the Consul General read an excerpt from “Antarctica,” a poem by the Consulate General’s Public Affairs Officer Chris Istrati.