9 August 2022

Straight talk with a participant of the “Eco-School for Modern Media” Tatyana Masterskikh

“Dreams come true. Someone’s dreams come true as it is shown in commercials but mine have become a reality thanks to AO GC Titan. I think philologists can understand me because during my 3-day trip to Pskov I visited Mikhailovskoe and this tour, organized by AO GC Titan, inspired me,” Tatyana wrote on her social network page.

Right before the trip, we interviewed Tatyana and ask her questions about ecology.

Фото: Арсений Тимашов

About eco-journalism

– I came to this wonderful city because I had an opportunity to improve my skills in eco-journalism and implementation of projects in this field. There is a great project in Omsk called “Eco-School for Modern Media”. It was organized by Regional Branch of the Union of Journalists of Russia.

Фото: Арсений Тимашов

Our local department of the Union educates about 30 people. We’ve already completed the first session: it was held in spring. Currently we are in the second session. As a result of just the first part of the project, the Titan Group of Companies, which supported the implementation of the Eco-School, sent me to improve my professional competencies.

Выпускники «Экошколы современных медиа»

Graduates of the Eco-School for Modern Media

– Do young journalists come to the Eco-School?

– Not only young, they are of completely different ages. The training is held in the area of ecology, so that we can form a conceptual apparatus, so that we can understand the relevance of certain problems, so that we have a pool of experts who can answer questions. And I realized that we need a unified communication platform, because many people are engaged in ecology, but very separately.

– I am starting to like the “Eco-School for Modern Media” even more! How long does the training last?

– We do not have any time limits. At first we wanted to complete everything just in one session. Then we realized that one or two months were not enough.  Now we have a second session and there is already talk of keeping it with the Union of Journalists on a permanent basis. Yes, there may not be regular lectures, when experts talk to us, but we also want to continue trips to specially protected natural areas. We want to continue our trips to industrial enterprises and watch them implement eco-projects. And the most important thing – the second session of the project will be finished in fall by summarizing results of a skill competition among journalists and bloggers who are engaged in ecology. There is a contest for the best article for them.

– It turns out that you are one of the leaders among environmental journalists in Omsk?

– The “Eco-School for Modern Media” is conducted by Chairman of the Omsk branch of the Union of Journalists of Russia Andrey Motovilov. I just happened to be a quite successful listener.

– You have written a project…

– Yes, I have written a project which is now called “Nachustotu” (Frankly). We will form a communication platform precisely so that we have the opportunity to unite the various movements under our wings. This is the first thing. And the second one is increasing the environmental literacy of the population.

I offered such ideas that would allow us to expand our work to a larger, more ambitious site.

- What is the focus of your project? What is the most important thing about it?

- The most important thing in my project is not just having tea-talks but to be able to work with our experts to involve the supervisory bodies and the authorities in the problem, so that within the framework of a specific topic we can work out a road map of how we will solve this problem all together. Sometimes the help of the residents may be needed, sometimes the help of volunteers, sometimes the people in charge will do their work themselves. In order not to put the brakes on the process! You understand that if a journalist makes a request, it is executed within seven days. Is it always like that? Another question. And if they exchange non-urgent documents with each other, it takes about 30 days. If you wait that long some problems may become irrelevant. So, we have to do it quickly.

About Omsk and ecology

– Why is ecology your topic?

– Ecology has been with me since childhood. There are many children’s movements in our city. Gymnasium No. 147, which I graduated from, to this day continues to be an ecological culture gymnasium. We were initiated into ecologists, and then in a children’s manner we assisted our nature as much as we could. We participated in various Saturday voluntary work days, river bank cleaning campaigns, planting flowers and trees...

- And when did you start doing it in an adult way?

– When I worked for a city newspaper, the development of one of our public gardens began. Of course, it’s small one, but it's in the heart of the city. Activists were collecting signatures against this development, I also went on pickets with them, held placards, photographed everything, wrote information materials, searched for required documents if the construction is allowed there or not. We defended the public garden, and nothing extra was built there. It was improved, new trees were planted, flowerbeds were laid out.

My next article was titled “Who leaves Omsk Alyonushka without birches” (Alyonushka is a protagonist’s name in many Russian folktales). It was planned to cut down trees clearing territory for future construction on the outskirts of the city. People were collecting signatures. I have issued several articles about this.  As a result, nothing was built in this area!

– What is the current situation with ecology in Omsk?

–  Problems exist. Omsk is a million-plus city, a large industrial center, we have a lot of road transport vehicles, part of the city is built up with private houses. The “Eco-School of Modern Media” is also needed to become a platform for dialogue between journalists, ecologists, industrialists and authorities.

– Indeed, Omsk journalists cannot help but deal with this problem!

–  Besides, our city was included in the “Clean Air” federal project of the “Ecology” national project, and there is a lot of work is conducted in this regard, including for the purpose of the reduction of emissions into the atmosphere. After all, we also have regional subprograms, as probably in all regions within the framework of the “Ecology” national project.

– It turns out that your journalists become social activists by and large?

– Probably, they always were such activists, because the Union of Journalists is a public organization.

About a delightful person

– Where can we read your articles?

– My main place of work is the regional newspaper “Omskaya Pravda”. This is a publication agency of our regional government. Besides, there are my posts on social networks, and within the framework of the “Nachistotu” (Straight Talk) project implementation, my own channel will appear in the near future, and an audio podcast is also planned to be created.

– But do you pass everything through people’s minds?

– Definitely!  I am purposefully looking for people who deal with various ecological issues. These are not only protectors of air, water and so on. I recently met a wonderful hunting inspector who works in a specially protected natural area. The man incredibly inspired me, because he is a fourth-generation hunting inspector.  He used to go to this specially protected natural area with his great-grandfather when he was a little boy, then with his grandfather, his father, and now he has already started to work on this territory himself. Just a delightful person! His name is Mikhail Zezyulia.

In Stepnoy reserve with Mikhail Zezyulia on the construction of artificial nests for birds and duck banding

In Stepnoy reserve with Mikhail Zezyulia on the construction of artificial nests for birds and duck banding

– How do you think we can save our planet? I understand that this is a global issue. Through enlightenment? Through joining? Through protection? Through what?

– Through my own mind. I met your social activist and eco-activist Sergey Yelizarov. He came to Omsk and talked about ecological habits, about an ecological lifestyle. This man also inspired me with his example. I can’t say that I lead a 100% eco-friendly lifestyle, but I try. For example, my children and I — I have two small children — are engaged in separate waste collection. We separate paper, cardboard, plastic. Then we collect it and take it to recycling centers so that it doesn’t end up somewhere on the street or in a landfill, but purposefully was directed to recycling.

Biotechnical event – topinambour planting for feeding ungulates - takes place in Sargatka district of Omsk region

Biotechnical event – topinambour planting for feeding ungulates - takes place in Sargatka district of Omsk region

– And your children will do this throughout life, because the foundation is laid from childhood.

– We always collect wastes when we go to nature. We love mushrooms, berries, we have a very good nature in this regard. If we see wastes, without doubt we collect it and bring to the city. We do not leave anything behind, of course, and at the same time we render assistance to nature.

About infrastructure

– We are talking now about ecological thinking. What else? To start with yourself is to start from the bottom. Or maybe we need to do it from the top too?

– If we talk, for example, about municipal solid waste, I think that it is extremely necessary to create an infrastructure for this. Because it is not always convenient for me to keep all this in the garage, on the balcony, in the country. I want to go outside and put plastic wastes in a special container for plastics, paper - to special container for paper. Unfortunately, we have very few such containers in the city, although it is a million-plus city.  Within the framework of our regional operator’s activity, these containers are placed in the private sector. Despite the fact that the city is industrial, developing, there is a lot of low-rise buildings in Omsk. And even in these quarters there are such containers. But in areas of high-rise buildings there are very few of them.

Here it is only necessary to act in accordance with the declarative principle, and these are other costs for the regional operator. To whom will it then transfer these costs as a result? Probably to the consumer. That’s why there is a big issue about the organization of such infrastructure.

 Mobile laboratory for the atmospheric air analysis as per eight major pollutants and per several substances from the group of aromatic hydrocarbons

Mobile laboratory for the atmospheric air analysis as per eight major pollutants and per several substances from the group of aromatic hydrocarbons

Reasonable balance

– It’s good that there are such people among Omsk residents!

– Omsk residents want to live in a clean, good, comfortable city, but even when we conduct polls, we ask if they are ready to participate in voluntary Saturday works and in voluntary Wednesday works…

People are not ready to collect wastes separately. Some leave behind dirt, if one asks them: “Why didn’t you take this waste out?” – “Tour dustbin is far away.” This is about cultural moments. This is far, that is far, not to mention what they say: “You noticed a piece of paper behind me, but you didn’t notice how much sewage is poured into the river, how much is thrown into the air.” That is, people still have such a consciousness that mixes their own problems with general ones.

Owl nesting in Sargatka district of Omsk region

Owl nesting in Sargatka district of Omsk region

– A lot of people are raising this topic here - experts, journalists...

– We have eco-bloggers, they also work in this area.

– What would you advise them?

– Increase personal competence and not go to extremes. We should understand that we cannot close all enterprises so that we have a super and good conditions.

–  There should be a reasonable balance!

– And that is ecological thinking. We should understand that around us it is to be clean. Why is my project called “Nachistotu” (Straight Talk)? And our thoughts should be pure. Then everything around us will be cleaned by ourselves. When specialized service companies see this, they will render us assistance. This will be seen by the officials, which still won’t leave us alone with this problem. Thus, only together we can achieve some results.

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