Environment Day at KBSU: Green Watch Initiatives

June 5 marks World Environment Day and Ecologist Day in Russia. These significant dates provide an opportunity for millions of people to take part in protecting the planet.

The press service of Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after Kh.M. Berbekov visited the university’s environmental work brigade, Green Watch.

The Green Watch, a university brigade that has been working on environmental issues at the university and in the region since its founding in 2017, is located in the basement of the KBSU Information Building. Students have launched several initiatives, from cleanup days and recycling collection to recycling, master classes, and lectures on sustainable development and responsible consumption.

Initially, the team consisted of students from the Institute of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, where the idea for the brigade originated. Today, the official Green Watch group on VKontakte has over 600 subscribers.

«Any student interested in ecology is welcome to join us,» says Oksana Kodzokova, a specialist at the KBSU Center for Supporting Student Associations, Youth Programs, and Projects. «Students from the College of Information Technology and Economics are very active right now: I think they’re attracted by the new equipment, which is widely used in practice.»
For example, using a shredder and a bicycle shredder, activists crush plastic bottle caps and obtain shavings, which are then used after heat treatment in the design and production of tablets. A heat press transforms the resulting mass into prints on T-shirts and tote bags, indistinguishable from paint. An injector melts the raw material into badges, and volunteers extract filament from the collected bottles—thread for a 3D printer—which is then used to print new items.

«All the technologies were developed in Nizhny Novgorod; we purchased them with grants and support from the university.» «The volunteers don’t use the equipment for commercial purposes, but to demonstrate the full recycling cycle to other students,» Kodzokova explained.
According to her, the team’s most widespread initiative today is wastepaper collection. In 2025, the activists recycled over two tons of paper and also took second place in the All-Russian Green Prize competition in the Educational Projects category.

One of the main goals remains environmental education and the promotion of environmental awareness. The volunteers are confident that this work, combined with simple everyday habits and meetings with the public, will lead to a greener consciousness.

Green Watch previously reported that in 2026, KBSU will expand its recycling workshop and add additional containers for separate waste collection. The volunteers are planning events, lectures, master classes, and cleanup days not only in Nalchik but also in other locations across the republic.