POLLY CHESNOKOVA
UKRAINE, 17
Project: ESMU
Basic Human Needs: Environment
While growing up in Kyiv, Ukraine, Polly was surrounded by people and organizations that actively promoted a zero-waste lifestyle. While studying in the United States, Polly met a student who was born in a small Ukrainian village. They discovered that teens in rural Ukraine did not learn environmental-friendly practices and were not aware of the environmental harm happening to the planet. In 2019, Polly cofounded ESMU, an organization working to make quality environmental education accessible to all students in Ukraine. ESMU educates youth on the global environmental movement and how to make an impact in their communities. Unlike other organizations with a similar mission, ESMU travels to remote areas and conducts in-person workshops that show students how to play an active role in protecting the environment. In only its first five months, ESMU worked with close to 100 youth in three regions of Ukraine and reached hundreds more via social media. They expect these numbers to double by the spring of 2020, and to soon expand into five additional areas of Ukraine. In the fall of 2019, the ESMU team was invited to speak at national events in Ukraine, including at Klitschko Foundation Challenge Academy and for YNGO PLUS, which they were asked to return to as speakers in 2020. In 2020, Polly plans to establish partnerships with several ecological brands based in Kyiv to produce events and provide residents with incentives to recycle. Eventually, Polly hopes to expand internationally and create a global generation making a positive environmental change in their communities.