Results of the Project on Green Technologies in Tourism
PetrSU summarized the results of the Karelia CBC Program project KA5041 Green Nature Best Solutions in Tourism to reduce negative impact on the environment.
Manager Sergey Koshelev summarized the results of project KA5041 NatureBest for PetrSU, where the university was the lead partner with a budget of €127,285 for a total project budget of €441,620.
Russian partners of the project were the Tourist Information Centre of the Republic of Karelia, Energy Efficiency Centre, Velena LLC (Segezha Hotel). Finland's partners in the project were the Finnish Environmental Institute and the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of North Karelia.
Thanks to the project, educational modules were introduced into the educational process of the institutes: the seminar “Problems of energy efficiency in buildings and engineering infrastructure facilities and ways to solve them in the energy transition” (Institute of Forestry, Mining and Construction Sciences and Institute of Physical Education, Sport and Tourism), and practical lessons on energy saving: excursions to the Urozero Center (Institute of Forestry, Mining and Construction Sciences and Institute of Physical Education, Sport and Tourism) and to the Segezha Hotel complex (Institute of Physics and Technology).
In addition, a pool of expert lecturers as well as teaching and training materials on energy and resource efficiency was created to develop various specialized additional vocational education and additional education programs for specific customer needs (e.g. Topical Energy Saving Issues for Tourism Organizations).
In the framework of the project 2 collections of methodological recommendations on the efficient use of energy and materials were published. The copies were distributed to students and lecturers of the Institute of Forestry, Mining and Construction Sciences and the Institute of Physical Education, Sport and Tourism:
- Booklet for owners and managers of tourist accommodation facilities on typical technical solutions - download Booklet.pdf (krimel.ru)
- Booklet for owners and managers of tourist accommodation facilities on environmentally and economically viable solutions - download here.
Project leader Sergey Koshelev presented the results of the project at the international scientific-practical conference of the Institute of Forest, Mountain and Construction Sciences “Wooden low-rise housing construction: economy, architecture and resource-saving technologies” and the 12th regional scientific-practical conference of the Institute of Forestry, Mining and Construction Sciences “Resource-saving technologies, materials and structures”.
3 webinars “Problems of Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Engineering Infrastructure Facilities and Solutions in the Energy Transition” were held with the participation of students of the Institute of Forestry, Mining and Construction Sciences and the Institute of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism, as well as the final seminar with a guest lecturer Vadim Chekalin, professor of the Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg State Economic University. In addition, a cycle of five green schools was held for students of the Institute of Forestry, Mining and Construction Sciences and the Institute of Physical Culture and Sports on energy and resource saving, with visits to the pilot site of the Urozero Center and Kivach Nature Reserve. A total of 350 PetrSU students participated in the seminars/webinars and schools.
In addition, the project produced educational videos on the use of green technologies in tourism using the example of the Urozero Center Green technologies in tourism to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Urozero - YouTube and Segezha Hotel;
In cooperation with the Interdistrict Resource Centre in Segezha, students of the Institute of Physics and Technology went on a practical lesson-excursion on energy saving at the pilot site of the project, the Segezha Hotel.
Within the framework of the project investments were made in PetrSU infrastructure: 2,073,000 rubles were invested into reconstruction and renovation of the Urozero Center equipment (installation of centralized heating system in 2 cottages and two heat pumps in cafe and cottage; replacement of heating radiators and pipelines in cafe; replacement of some cold water pipes; installation of heating cable in pipes; dry toilet installation; doors replacement with energy efficient ones; purchase of new electric hob, lights, pumps, etc.). Thanks to the work carried out, electricity costs at the Urozero Center have decreased by 800,000 rubles/year. In addition, a laptop and a projector were purchased for PetrSU in the amount of 100,000 rubles. For administrative costs PetrSU received 1,255,000 rubles from the project KA 5041.
Jarkko Kärkimaa, Coordinator of the Cross-Border Cooperation Program, praised the results of the project, thanking Sergei Koshelev for his excellent work and excellent results. The videos on the results of the project at the pilot sites in Karelia were also highly appreciated. Jarkko Kärkimaa also noted the excellent communication activities of the project.
“Your report provided clear and comprehensive information on the implementation of the project. Your consortium of partners functioned perfectly and everyone played an important role in the project. Despite the challenges the project faced at the beginning, you managed to overcome them with style. And I hope that as many people as possible can learn about the excellent results of your project, of which you can be justly proud,”
− summed up Jarkko Kärkimaa.
A new project application is currently being prepared to capitalize on the NatureBest project with the aim of introducing new methods of environmental impact assessment and reduction into the educational process of the institutes (Institute of Biology, Ecology and Agricultural Technology, Institute of Physics and Technology, Institute of Forestry, Mining and Building Sciences).
