Day 7.

The results of the International Olympiad on Ecology and Climate Change (IOCE) have been summed up in Sirius. The competition brought together 39 participants from 11 countries: Russia, Belarus, Djibouti, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, India, Qatar, Costa Rica, and Tajikistan. In the team standings, Russia took first place. The Indian team came second, while representatives of Qatar and Djibouti shared the bronze.

In the individual standings, Russian school students won two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. The overall winner was Sofia Salangina from Ufa. Sofia’s path into ecology began with school community projects: she took part in paper recycling campaigns and later became a volunteer and organizer of the regional environmental initiative Clean Games.

"I was confident that I had completed the tasks well, presented my solutions clearly, and successfully defended my project, but I still didn’t expect such success. The most memorable moment of IOCE was the field trip to Sochi National Park — the nature and mountains were simply magnificent, and communicating with other participants was unforgettable. In the future, I plan to develop my project on carbon sequestration by plant communities. I want research this topic from different perspectives. I also seek to promote environmental education in my home region, the Republic of Bashkortostan, and implement various community projects," said Sofia Salangina.

Biruk Getnet, a student from Ethiopia, was delighted to take part in the International Olympiad on Ecology. He said that each round was "a door to new knowledge" for him. His dream is to open a laboratory in Ethiopia dedicated to ecological research and experiments.

"The Ecology Olympiad is a wonderful opportunity for young scientists to understand how the environment works and what factors affect climate change. What I enjoyed most was solving the team case in the theoretical round. We developed and presented sustainable development indicators and explored the possibility of applying them to our own region, taking into account economic, geographic, natural, and political factors. Ecology in Ethiopia is getting worse year by year. My dream is to open a laboratory that would conduct research in this field," — said IOCE silver medalist Biruk Getnet.

Today, students from 11 countries planted magnolia saplings in the Olympic Park. This way, the participants of the International Olympiad on Ecology took a practical step toward greening the planet and continued the tradition of planting commemorative alleys on Sirius Federal Territory. 

"The campaign turned out to be very emotional. Compared to other IOCE events we took part in, here we had a direct opportunity to help nature. It was my first experience planting trees. I believe the Ecology Olympiad connects perfectly with this initiative. Each tree is a symbol of unity, a sustainable future, and the contribution of young researchers to a common cause. I am confident that IOCE will expand and attract even more countries," — said participant from Qatar Abdulrahman Abujbara.