The video is waiting for you at the following link:  https://youtu.be/6n-uH2frWxc

Let us be reminded that the video was made as part of the online project "Same or Different: Topical Social and Cultural Problems of Youth in Russia and Germany" aimed at supporting the student exchanges between Volgograd and Cologne.

Following the tradition, we are also publishing an interview with the authors!

You made a video about ecology. Are you familiar with the environment-oriented initiatives in Volgograd? Which one do you find the most useful?

Aristarkh Panin:

"I can cite many activities aimed at the conservation of environment. For example, there is the federal project called 'Preservation of Forests'. It must be said that there is more and more action taken to clean up the already contaminated areas, and these initiatives are led by our city's activists".

Daniil Gripasov:

"I am not exactly familiar with the specific initiatives, but I know that there is quite a number of them being implemented in the Volgograd region within the framework of the national project 'Ecology', meant to protect and preserve the environment. I am also aware that active measures are being taken to preserve the bodies of water in the Volgograd region – by cleaning and protecting them".

If you could take a guest from Cologne to one and only one location from your video, which one would you choose?

Aristarkh Panin:

"Most likely, I would choose August as a month for receiving guests, stock up on local mineral waters and take my guests to Lotus Lake. In August, these lotuses are starting to bloom, and the view becomes incredibly beautiful. The impressions will be unforgettable".

Daniil Gripasov:

"Most likely, I would take my Cologne guest to Lake Elton. In my opinion, this is one of the most impressive and fascinating places in the Volgograd region. Elton is striking not only in size, but also in its qualitative characteristics. It seems to be exactly the place that our guests should visit".

What can we do, as tourists and nature lovers, to preserve the natural wonders of the Volgograd region – if, for example, we take a trip to the Alexander graben?

Aristarkh Panin:

"First of all, we must start with ourselves and then try to react with more care and concern to what the people around are doing. In my opinion, we must fight against what I call a sabotage of the environment. Many people think that little things like having a good time and leaving your litter behind will do no harm... But this is obviously not true, especially when it comes to inorganic waste, which does not decompose on its own. Our duty as tourists is to prevent any harm from being done to the environment".

Daniil Gripasov:

"It seems to me that the simplest, but at the same time the most important factor would be to work on our hiking culture, because if we thought before we acted, if we stop littering, stop damaging the flora and fauna, avoid starting fires in the wrong places… In a word, if we don't do any of the things that are harmful to the Volgograd region's natural resources, we will make our natural heritage last much longer".