Green youth of Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine: after-school naturalist programs in post-Soviet space

Abstract

This paper compares the status of young naturalist after-school programs in three post-Soviet republics: Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In the past, the region's environmental teachers, leaders and activists have emerged from such youth programs. Thus, the health of these programs is a leading indicator for the long-term viability of broader environmental efforts across the former Soviet Union. However, it is unclear whether the existing international, national or local structures of the post-Soviet republics are adequate for nurturing a new generation of politically active and environmentally aware youth. Although all three countries have many thriving programs with talented staff and good curriculum, one of our main findings is that there is not enough support from existing state structures or from private sector efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of such programs. In addition, we find that many of these programs would benefit from better communication and coordination with one another. However, we also find that there are some new, encouraging organizational models being tried on a limited basis in selected regions. We conclude with a recommendation for further study.

Keywords:

• after-school education
• nongovernmental organizations
• post-Soviet
• young naturalists

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the IREX Policy Connect grant program and the technical support of Michael Westrate, Teaching Assistant in History at SCSU.