As some of you know, I have been a volunteer at the Great Baikal Trail Association during my time in Irkutsk. Southeast Siberia's Lake Baikal is the oldest and deepest lake in the world, containing about 23% of the world's unfrozen fresh water, which is more than all the US Great Lakes combined. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has more than 1,700 species of flora and fauna, two thirds of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
One of the activities of the GBTA is creating the first network of hiking trails in Russia. Each summer, we lead dozens of international trail building projects around the lake. By increasing eco-tourism, the GBTA strives to protect Lake Baikal, bring local villagers out of the rural poverty that plagues Siberia, and increase the volunteer movement in Russia.
In April, we placed a grant application on National Geographic's Changemakers Geotourism Challenge competition website, becoming one of 323 entries from 84 countries.
Recently, the jury named us one of 15 finalists! Three of those finalists will be chosen as grant winners by voters on the website. So...
Please go to this page to vote for "The Great Baikal Trail: the first system of hiking trails in all of Russia." (Keep in mind that you have to vote for THREE applications in order for your vote to count. You also need to register in order to vote.)
Thank you and SPREAD THE WORD!!
Also check out the GBTA website and maybe even sign up for a project next summer!
(sorry if you got this as an e-mail as well...)
One of the activities of the GBTA is creating the first network of hiking trails in Russia. Each summer, we lead dozens of international trail building projects around the lake. By increasing eco-tourism, the GBTA strives to protect Lake Baikal, bring local villagers out of the rural poverty that plagues Siberia, and increase the volunteer movement in Russia.
In April, we placed a grant application on National Geographic's Changemakers Geotourism Challenge competition website, becoming one of 323 entries from 84 countries.
Recently, the jury named us one of 15 finalists! Three of those finalists will be chosen as grant winners by voters on the website. So...
Please go to this page to vote for "The Great Baikal Trail: the first system of hiking trails in all of Russia." (Keep in mind that you have to vote for THREE applications in order for your vote to count. You also need to register in order to vote.)
Thank you and SPREAD THE WORD!!
Also check out the GBTA website and maybe even sign up for a project next summer!
(sorry if you got this as an e-mail as well...)
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