‘Planting green spaces is a bright ‘chord’ of this holiday’

Their own botanical garden

Residents of the Microdistrict No. 27 now have their own green corner where 20 species of shrubs and trees grow. Thanks to the workers of the oil refinery, the “bald” area along the sidewalk sparkled with new colours. The plant workers came out to plant young seedlings as a friendly team, headed by General Director Maxim Novikov. Together with Mayor of Nizhnekamsk Ramil Mullin, he planted spruce trees near the School No. 31.

“Our company annually holds environmental campaigns to green the city and the district. This year, we chose the place for planting together with the city’s Executive Committee. It was decided to decorate the new promenade, about 1,000 meters long, with greenery. I am sure that residents of nearby houses will enjoy walking among the dense greenery. We all understand perfectly well that trees and shrubs have a positive effect on the environmental situation. With joint efforts, the city will only become more beautiful, our citizens will enjoy living here. And the youth, who may now be at the stage of choosing whether to move or not, will naturally choose Nizhnekamsk,” said Maxim Novikov.

Mayor of Nizhnekamsk Ramil Mullin, in turn, thanked the employees of the enterprise for creating a comfortable urban environment. According to him, the promenade in the Microdistrict No. 27 will become a favourite place for Nizhnekamsk residents.

“Funds from the federal, republican and municipal budgets were attracted to create the park. I would like to say a special thank you to the TAIF-NK company for supporting our initiative. Planting greenery is a bright ‘chord’ of this holiday. There were some ‘clothes,’ and those trees and bushes that were planted today as part of the environmental campaign are the ‘tie.’ Our industrial enterprises are partners who make the city more interesting and convenient to live in,” the mayor emphasised.

“It looks simply awesome”

In total, the company's employees planted about a thousand green spaces. Attention is drawn to the decorative shrubs of the Thunberg barberry. In nature, they grow on the mountain slopes of China and Japan. One can see the glossy cotoneaster in the neighbourhood. Its distribution area is unusually large — it grows even in Africa.

The promenade was decorated with unpretentious bushes of the bladder senna. According to head of Ecoplant nursery Dmitry Chernocher, the bush grows quickly and is resistant to urban pollution.

“The bladder senna grows in large bushes. Its dense crown can be shaped, topiary haircuts can be created, it looks simply awesome, unrealistically cool. Elegantissima white dogwood looks no less chic. In winter, its red branches play with colours against the background of white snow. And in the warm season, the bush pleases with green foliage with a white border,” noted Dmitry Chernocher.

Another spectacular element of the landscape design was the bushes of decorative roses. In summer, its flowers will give a festive and elegant look to the territory. And the lilac bushes will give a pleasant aroma.

Along with the bushes, the company's employees planted several types of trees: bird cherry, ash, birch, chestnut, maple, spruce, rowan. The winners of the municipal competition EcoSpring in the nomination Best Ecofamily Albert and Nelly Gasimov also joined the environmental campaign. The head of the family works at TAIF-NK as a leading industrial safety engineer, and in his free time, together with his wife and children Timur and Marat, he runs his own environmental blog.

“It is necessary to take part in the greening of the city. Children should understand that nature needs to be looked after and cared for. If we do not treat it with care, the planet will turn into something dirty and ugly,” Albert Gasimov is sure.

“It is important to teach children not to pollute the environment. We live here, we breathe this air. Today, our family planted young maple, spruce and lilac seedlings. In a few years, we will come here and see large trees that we planted with our own hands. It will be very nice,” his wife Nelly supported.

New trees in the Microdistrict No. 27 will not only enrich the air with oxygen, but also reduce the amount of there is dust, noted representatives of Russia’s environmental watchdog who also came to take part in the planting.

“We supervise the Nizhnekamsk industrial hub. We receive many requests regarding atmospheric air and industrial emissions. Today, a very important environmental campaign took place for all of us. Trees affect air quality, the more green spaces, the better the ecology,” notes senior state inspector of the Volga-Kama Interregional Department of the environmental watchdog Laysan Khosnullina.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Tatarstan is also confident that such environmental campaigns unite and instil responsibility for the environment.

“Planting trees is a noble cause. A promenade surrounded by greenery will attract a large flow of people here, will add beauty and charm to this area. In addition to ecology and health, trees help us emotionally. When in contact with nature, the environment changes, the emotional system reboots,” concluded senior specialist of the Zakamye branch of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan Yelena Girkina.

40 hectares of green space

It is not the first time for the company's employees to plant trees and shrubs. The leader of the activists, Alena Mukharnikova, stressed that for her this is a great opportunity to make a personal contribution to the improvement of Nizhnekamsk.

“Greening the city plays a key role in creating an environmentally friendly, healthy and comfortable environment for living in the city. We hold such events regularly. Two years ago, we planted spruce trees at the Lemayev Square, and today we planted 975 seedlings of various trees and shrubs on the pedestrian promenade in the Microdistrict No. 27. Let our trees take root, grow and give people health and joy,” she said with a smile.

Head of the Environmental Protection Department of TAIF-NK Ruslan Valiyev said that over the past five years, the company's employees have planted trees and shrubs on an area equal to 40 hectares of land. Green spaces grow both within the city limits and on the border of the sanitary-industrial zone.

“15 October has already become a traditional tree planting day for us. This year, we also could not stay away and organized a charity event to green the territory. To date, the company has implemented a number of large-scale environmental projects aimed at reducing the negative impact on the environment. Thus, under an agreement with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Tatarstan, in the fall, the company delivered two small-sized automatic air pollution control stations. They monitor air quality online for 10 main indicators that city residents had previously complained about. There are no excesses on them now. We track everything online. If something happens, we will act promptly,” said Ruslan Valiyev.

At the end of the event, Nizhnekamsk Mayor Ramil Mullin and the company's CEO Maxim Novikov asked the students of School No. 31 to take care of the seedlings, water them as needed, and keep the area clean and tidy.

“Today we planted about a thousand ornamental trees and shrubs. The seedlings were brought from a special nursery. Thanks to TAIF-NK, this park will not only be beautiful, but also green. We would like to ask you to maintain this area. After a while, when you come here to this school, you will see the results of your work. I hope that you will be able to become famous engineers, chemists, mathematicians, scientists, specialists in the industry you want to be in. But no matter where you are, remember one thing: Nizhnekamsk is your homeland, your land that gave you the opportunity to grow up,” Ramil Mullin addressed the lads.

Director General of the enterprise Maxim Novikov added that only through joint efforts can we create a comfortable and safe urban environment for all residents.

“We are for continuity, interaction between generations. We provide technical support, you do love for the city. Joint work will make Nizhnekamsk the most beautiful, green and comfortable,” he concluded.