Yekaterinburg, Russia—A UPF officer turned his birthday party into a work project and got his guests to clear garbage from a local forest-park.
On Saturday, June 6, 2015, the 30 adults and 15 children collected enough garbage in the Kalinovsky Forest Park to fill more than 50 large garbage bags.
The work project was organized in honor of the UN-initiated World Environment Day (June 5) by the UPF-Urals chapter together with the environmental volunteer group “Done!”
Within three hours, an area of 10,000 square meters was cleared of trash and illegal dumping areas were liquidated.
The big turnout was partially due to the fact that it was the birthday of project organizer Evgeny Skvortsov, the secretary general of the UPF-Urals branch, who invited his friends and family to celebrate the day by cleaning a favorite leisure spot.
Mr. Skvortsov explained: “To your birthday you can invite a lot of guests. So on my birthday I came up with the idea to organize a garbage collection. I was born in the beginning of June, in the warm season, and I can use this opportunity to carry out good deeds. During one day you can help nature, have a picnic, play outdoors and visit interesting natural sites.
“I introduce my guests to each other and talk to those who come for the first time. Together we remove the garbage while discussing different topics. Doing work that some people find unpleasant shows the real character of people. Friendship in such conditions becomes stronger.
“I use my birthday as a means to make friends. The acquaintances I make during the year may not feel comfortable coming to a family event such as a birthday party, so when I invite them, I emphasize the volunteer work aspect.
“On the other hand, longtime friends sometimes are reluctant to join socially useful work, so I use my birthday to get them involved.”
Mr. Skvortsov prepared a name tag for each guest that they could take home as a souvenir of the day.
After the cleaning was done and a group photo was made, the volunteers continued the birthday celebration with a picnic.