It was a sunny weekend morning when students took to the trail leading to Butakovsky Gorge.
But unlike some tourists who make their way along the trail, these KIMEP students would stopped and picked up what others left behind: garbage.
Each semester the student organization KIMEP Eco organizes a cleanup day. The event is open to the public, including students not only from KIMEP, but also from other universities across Almaty.
“We chose to clean Butakovsky Gorge as it is a favorite vacation spot for both Almaty residents and tourists, especially those heading to the Butakovsky Waterfall,” said Mariya Ivanova, one of the organizers. “Unfortunately, many tourists throw rubbish without thinking about the consequences and the hills end up being more littered.”
The day saw a good turnout with 27 people coming together to remove trash. By 10 a.m., the group got on the bus provided by the organizers and set off for the mountains. Organizers told the volunteers where and how to clean and any safety hazards to avoid. Participants were assigned a group and set up separate collections of paper, plastic, metal and glass.
This made it easier to count and sort after the cleanup. Also, each person was provided with one reusable bag for trash and protective gloves to tidy the surroundings of Butakovsky Gorge.
“This was my first time joining a clean-up day, and I really enjoyed it,” said Polina Mamina, a KIMEP student. “It made me realize how even small actions can make a difference when it comes to helping the environment. I look forward to taking part in more events like this.”
Volunteers not only embraced the opportunity to make a mountain cleaner, but also to work alongside other students, make friends and spend time in a picturesque place, breathing in fresh air.
“I regularly take part in eco events because I want to contribute to the cleanliness and freshness of public places by doing something meaningful,” said Zarina Shaigazina, a junior student of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
Nurdaulet Koshanov, another student from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, joined the event to support his friends and be part of something positive.
“I love hiking in the mountains, contributing to good initiatives, and spending quality time with my friends – this event brought all of that together,” he said.
KIMEP students seem less involved in eco initiatives, some students said.
“I think our level of environmental awareness is pretty low probably because ecology just isn’t a top priority for most students,” said Karina Abdyldayeva of KIMEP Eco, adding that students appear less interested in sustainability.
“Each clean-up day we have from 20 to 30 volunteers, but still it is a small number compared to the student body size.”
Abdyldayeva said she would like to a more eco-friendly atmosphere on campus where students could find reliable recycling.
After two hours of cleaning, all the trash brought by the volunteers were properly managed and put into the disposal bins.
Most items found included various wrappers like chip bags, candy wrappers, and cigarette packets, as well as paper products, miscellaneous plastic bottles and cans. Despite the unexpected rain in the hills, the group still enjoyed refreshments and a lunch break. The April 5 event ended not only with bags of collected garbage, but with a sense of purpose, new community building and satisfaction of knowing they’d made a difference.
“At our university, clean-up days are held quite often and I’m really glad to be here today, working side by side with other university students,” said Shaigazina.