Together with nonprofit development specialists, we built an organizational structure and determined the resources that we need for further development. The process affected every team member. We developed job descriptions and launched the process of individual employee development.
Additionally, we carried out work in the following key areas:
Summer volunteer trail-building projects:
• We developed a schedule for the summer volunteer trail-building projects “Giants of the Siberian Taiga.” Information about these projects is located on our official website and on the platforms Goodsurfing and Summer Volunteer.
• We started preparing for our volunteer trail-building program in Pribaikalskiy National Park.
• We held discussions with companies about organizing corporate volunteer projects. Project programs were drawn up and estimates were calculated.
• In cooperation with the Inclusive Resource Center (Samara), we developed a program for an inclusive volunteer project in the Baikal Nature Reserve. We prepared the necessary documents, and posted information about the project on GBT’s official website.
GBT’s off-season projects:
• From March 1st through March 10th, we oversaw the project “In the Land of the Steppe Winds.” Participants provided volunteer assistance to local residents in the village of Bolshoe Goloustnoye. They got acquainted with the Baikal’s winter beauty, and they prepared and conducted two eco-lessons, “Our Vibrant Forest" and " Forest Fires,” for third- and fourth-grade students. To learn more about the project, go to this link: Итоги проекта «В краю степных ветров».
• We gathered and analyzed information with an eye for creating new projects under the umbrella "I want to go to Baikal" program. We discussed the possibility of overseeing projects on in Baikal Zapovednik.
• We developed the project “А Ribbon Is Not a Match for Wood.” We drew up a budget and wrote an application for funding through the En+ Group 2021 grant competition.
• We created a new GBT board game called “Build Your Own Path.” We tested it on a few groups and came up with a list of revisions and improvements.
Exchanges, internships and consultations:
• We surveyed participants in our "Leadership and Trail Building Courses" to identify the course demand and determine the number of future project leaders and assistants who will implement GBT projects in 2021. We developed a program of courses and invited lecturers.
• We conducted a survey of young people from the Baikal region (Chita, Usolye-Sibirskoye, Ulan-Ude, Severobaikalsk and elsewhere) to gauge interest in a new August 2021 project: an educational and practical camp called "We’re Here.” Based on survey results, we developed a project program and submitted an application to the Presidential Grants Fund.
• We held discussions with the “Mozhevel’nik” student group from St. Petersburg about a joint project and with representatives of Land of the Leopard National Park about trail building and the Kravtsovskiy Waterfalls.
• We prepared for the seminar at the Sakhalin Botanical Garden.
• We provided advice to our Moscow volunteers from the city of Pushkino on the creation of a trail through Mayakovsky Square. We advised the organizers of the Polyana Sports Park in Irkutsk on the creation of a bridge over the Angara River. And we helped two students from Moscow with research on socially conscious tourism, civil society, and volunteerism.
• We participated in the “Volunteer School,” organized by Kronotsky Zapovednik, as experts on trail-building and environmental grant application competitions.
• We appeared on live TV on “Travel Lab.” We participated in the forum “Clean Country.” And we were interviewed by and wrote an article for the online magazine about charity, "Philanthropy.” We also participated in a round table at the public chamber of the Irkutsk region, and we took part in the Green Congress—the ceremony for the Doing for the World Award from the Give the Planet Life Foundation.
Operationally, we carried out the sale of souvenir products, optimized and refined GBT’s website and maintained our social media presence. Our specialists developed and sent letters to potential corporate donors and participated in meetings about the creation of environmental infrastructure on Lake Baikal.
All this was possible thanks to the support of our friends, partners and volunteers. Thank you for your faith in us!