On 12 June, an eco-quest with elements of sport orienteering was held in Voronezh. It was organised as a part of cooperation between the Department of Human Geography and Regional Studies at the Faculty of Geography, Geoecology, and Tourism of Voronezh State University and N.E. Zhukovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin Air Force Academy.
The goal of the event was to popularise geography, to attract the attention of students to environmental issues, and to develop their feelings of responsibility towards environmental protection. The eco-quest was also aimed at engaging students in the solving of environmental issues, fostering the careful use of nature, developing environmental conciousness and awareness, making students familiar with ways of presenting environmental data, and practising the skills of orienteering.
At first, the students expected it to be no more than a stroll in Olimpic park. However, at the first station “Proseka Yuzhnaya” they had to complete a task and demonstrate their knowledge in botany and biogeography. At the next station, they had to put up a tent against the clock, and then they did push-ups when answering the questions of the judges. The total distance was about 20 km. And all the time they had to read maps to find stations which were hidden far from the path. They could proceed only after they had completed the tasks.
The eco-path finished by the river Voronezh where students sang songs accompanied by a guitar and were able to chat with each other.
