October 14, 2000: Botchin State Nature Reserve was among the Russian reserves to celebrate Reserve Staff Day, a professional holiday. The reserve suggested that the district’s conservation organizations hold a Green Town March that day. The initiative was supported by town and district authorities alike.
In anticipation of the holiday, a photography exhibition – The World of Protected Nature – opened on October 3, 2000 at the Town Museum of Local Lore. Ninety works by members of the reserve staff were on display.
October 14 turned out to be an amazingly warm and calm day. By ten a.m. the first Green Town Marchers (students from Vocational School No. 19) had arrived at Victory Square carrying banners and transparencies. By 11 a.m. the whole Square was bright with balloons, posters, banners and transparencies. On the town’s main street, a large banner read: “Botchin Reserve is the common property of this town and all Russia”.
The march was led by the Town Mayor; heads and staff of conservation departments and organizations of the district and the town; representatives of town and district administrations and of the Department of Education; cultural officials; environmental activists; and students from the town’s secondary and vocational schools. Some 360 people marched accompanied by nature conservation slogans. After the march, a rally was held in front of the Town Culture Hall. The rally was opened by Yu. L. Grigoryev, Head of the Town and the District. In his speech, Grigoryev noted the significant role of the reserve in promoting ecological awareness among the local public. He also touched upon several local environmental problems. Other speakers included the heads of the reserve, of the Regional Ecology Committee, of Forestry, and of the Hunting and Fishing Society. Members of the public also spoke. After the rally, a concert was held in honor of the reserve staff. A contest of children’s pavement drawings was also held.
