Rhododendron Day in Vladivostok
A Nature Festival and Contest with International Participation for School Children
(A Sister School Relationship is also possible!)
An Invitation to Teachers and Students in the Seattle Area
The Vladivostok Botanical Garden, located in the Russian Far East port of Vladivostok ("the San Francisco of Russia"), has for several years held a festival and contest in nature depiction and description for school children in grades 4 to 7. The festival takes place in May, and is called Rhododendron Day after the iconic native flower of the area. Children are asked to submit, in power point or poster format, a portrayal in words and pictures on the theme of each year's festival -- for 2011 the theme is "My Favorite Native Plant." Awards are given at a large ceremony, comparisons between nature depictions are made, and results are posted on the Garden's web site.
In May of 2010, when the theme was "Medicinal Plants," school children from Japan took part along with Russian children. This year the Vladivostok organizers, who are botanists and environmental educators at the Botanical Garden, have made a special request for participation by school children from the Seattle area. They are also inviting Seattle-area schools to become "sister schools" with schools in Vladivostok, building a relationship based on correspondence (email, letters, skype) regarding the natural world, including issues such as endangered species, pollution, climate change, and the attractions and wonders of nature.
From September 3-23, 2010 a group of three botanist-educators from the Vladivostok Botanical Garden visited the Seattle area, learning about local environmental education programs, getting to know the area's schools, gardens, and parks, and becoming acquainted with local flora and fauna. They were struck by the similarities between the plants of our two regions – but perhaps it is no surprise, given our mutual proximity to the North Pacific Ocean and our similar latitudes. No less striking was the warmth of their reception by teachers, botanists, environmentalists, and other citizens of the Pacific Northwest interested in building bridges across the North Pacific Ocean.
Indeed, there has never been a more important time for children to learn to reach beyond our borders, and our culture, to discover the richness of other people and places, and to grasp how we share responsibility for our planet. Participation in Rhododendron Day is a great way to contribute to this learning!
For more information and to sign up, contact Tony Allison, environmental educator with the Washington Park Arboretum and Mountains to Sound Greenway, at 206-522-0268 or anthonyallison@comcast.net.
You can read also about the Vladivostok Botanical Garden, and enjoy its wealth of plants and beauty, at the web site: http://botsad.ru/index_e.htm
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