Overcoming challenges through environmental education: how the eu_nitra_ukr project conducted a large-scale educational marathon

Within the framework of the EU Erasmus+ project “Preventing Nitrate Pollution for Health Environment: European Experience in Implementing the Nitrates Directive for Ukraine’s Circular Economy” (EU_NITRA_UKR, No. 101238988), the NUBiP of Ukraine team implemented a comprehensive educational program for schoolchildren. It consisted of a theoretical course, practical demonstrations, and a final interactive quiz.

       Educational Course: From Theory to Laboratory (May 1–12, 2026)

       During the first half of May 2026, a series of online classes was held for students. Despite the war challenges and force majeure circumstances, the project team not only met but exceeded the planned targets.

       As part of Task T 1.3, 8 hours of online lectures were conducted, during which schoolchildren familiarized themselves with the basic principles of the EU Nitrates Directive, its history, and its significance for Ukraine's circular economy.

       Special attention was paid to the practical component. 5 hours of online demonstration experiments were conducted, during which students were shown real methods of water sampling and measuring nitrate content. Schoolchildren clearly saw how different research methods work - from the classic photometric method to modern rapid test strips. This allowed them to understand how scientific data is born in the laboratory and why water quality monitoring is critically important.

         The Final Quiz: Record Participation (May 22, 2026)

       The logical conclusion of the educational course was an online quiz on the Kahoot platform, which took place on May 22, 2026. According to the initial grant plan, the target audience was to be the pupils of the Kyiv Palace for Children and Youth (BEN). However, due to force majeure, the team promptly expanded the geography of the invitation.

Thanks to this, students from 18 educational institutions from various parts of Ukraine joined the quiz - from Lviv and Kyiv regions to Sumy and Poltava regions. Instead of the planned 15 participants, 55 schoolchildren joined the game. Such a stir demonstrated the high demand for environmental education among Ukrainian youth and proved the effectiveness of digital tools in disseminating knowledge about the EU Nitrates Directive.

       During the quiz titled “Nitrates in Water and Food: Risks and Facts”, students demonstrated remarkable awareness of chemistry, ecology, and food safety. The competition took place in an extremely dynamic and friendly atmosphere.

       Winners and Awards

Based on the results of a fierce battle, the leaders emerged:

       1st place (9266 points): Daryna Radio (Brodovskyi Reference General Secondary Education Institution of I-III degrees No. 4, Lviv region). The girl was prepared by biology teacher Liliia Malik.

       2nd place (8647 points): Pavlo Lisovskyi (Lyceum No. 4, Pyriatyn).

       3rd place (8629 points): Roman Holubishen (Lyceum No. 4, Pyriatyn).

       The winners and most active participants received useful branded prizes from the EU_NITRA_UKR project, including eco-bags, mugs, notebooks, and other souvenirs. The main award for Daryna Radio was the official Winner’s Certificate (1st place), signed by the Vice-Rector of NUBiP of Ukraine Oleksandr Labenko and the Project Coordinator Larysa Voytenko. The girl is exceptionally gifted, and we will be delighted to see her as our student.

All prize-winners and participants, as well as the teachers who became our co-organizers, also received certificates.

Information Wave: From the Audience to Social Media

An important result of the event was that the knowledge gained did not remain within the online meeting. Schoolchildren actively shared information about the importance of controlling nitrate levels in water and food on their social media, posting photos, impressions, and key facts under the single thematic hashtag #StopNitrates. This proved that the project achieved not only an educational but also an awareness-raising goal - it formed an active environmental position in young people and a desire to share knowledge with their peers.

This educational marathon became a vivid example of how grant projects adapt to today's realities. Thanks to the team's flexibility, the high professionalism of the speakers, and modern digital platforms, it was possible not only to meet but also to significantly exceed the planned targets. The EU_NITRA_UKR team will continue to work to ensure that environmental awareness and knowledge about sustainable development are formed in Ukrainian schoolchildren from a young age.

The project team sincerely thanks the teachers and students, thanks to whom we are becoming closer to European standards of education and ecology.

       The event was implemented within the framework of the EU Erasmus+ project "Preventing Nitrate Pollution for Health Environment: European Experience in Implementing the Nitrates Directive for Ukraine's Circular Economy" (EU_NITRA_UKR, No. 101238988).

TOP-6 OF WINNERS

1. Daryna Radio, Brodivskyi Reference General Secondary Education Institution of I-III degrees No. 4 of the Brodivska City Council of the Lviv region. For Daryna Radio, Liliia Malik, the biology teacher of the previously mentioned school, can be mentioned.

2. Pavlo Lisovskyi, Lyceum No. 4, Pyriatyn

3. Roman Holubishen, Lyceum No. 4, Pyriatyn

4. Anastasiia Burkovska, Academic Lyceum named after Volodymyr Melnyk of the Obukhiv City Council of the Kyiv region

5. Mariia Parashchenko, 9th grade, Lyceum 211 of the Obolonskyi district of Kyiv

6. Diana Kutsebko, Lyceum No. 4, Pyriatyn

Participants’ List

1.              Kulyk Yelyzaveta

2.              Lutsenko Ivan

3.              Savchenko Olha

4.              Misan Dasha

5.              Sotnikova Anna

6.              Ostapenko Andrii

7.              Hromova Diana

8.              Sofiia Kozachenko

9.              Yuzvak Kseniia

10.          Tymoshchuk Zlata

11.          Prykhodko Anna

12.          Sabirov Maksym

13.          Butenko Dmytro

14.          Ushchapivskyi Mykhailo

15.          Popovych Yuliia

16.          Vorobiova Veronika

17.          Bytsiura Maksym Yuriiovych

18.          Voronina Yana

19.          Tsyba Ivanna

20.          Yankovska Viktoriia

21.          Popadiuk Bohdan Kostiantynovych

22.          Protsak Kateryna

23.          Kondratenko Artem

24.          Komarenko Dasha

25.          Ostapets Zakhar

26.          Yarova Vlasta

27.          Kostenko Liza

28.          Khaov Viktoriia

29.          Zhahlo Dariia

30.          Ushchapivskyi Orest

31.          Haluzynskyi Vadym

32.          Tseliukh Viktoriia

33.          Polievyk Kateryna

34.          Zahaiskyi Dmytro

35.          Orliuk Mykhailo

36.          Chepurnyi Tymofii

37.          Palieieva Daria

38.          Shpyrka Anna

39.          Kudryk Viktoriia

40.          Shpet Viktor

41.          Dubinchyna Yevheniia

42.          Danylechuk Yevhen

43.          Milana Kuznietsova

44.          Shokh Daria

45.          Zibert Dmytro

46.          Khodych Anna

47.          Yermolenko Karina

48.          Kushch Artem

49.          Zavhorodnia Mariia

50.          Bohatyrets Vladyslav

51.          Rudyk Alina

52.          Raskin Anton

53.          Stetsenko Mariia

54.          Kornieieva Sofiia

55.          Blynda Stas

List of Educational Institutions

1.    Pyriatyn Lyceum No. 4, Pyriatyn, Poltava region

2.    Tsybuliv Lyceum of the Monastyryshche City Council of the Cherkasy region

3.    Seredyno-Budskyi Lyceum No. 2 of the Seredyno-Budska City Council of the Sumy region

4.    Lyceum No. 211 of the Obolonskyi district, Kyiv

5.    “European Collegium” Private Educational Institution, Kyiv

6.    Lyceum No. 3 of the Podilskyi district, Kyiv

7.    Scientific Kyiv-Pechersk Lyceum No. 171 “Leader”, Kyiv

8.    Gymnasium No. 258, Kyiv

9.    Brodivskyi Reference General Secondary Education Institution of I-III degrees No. 3, Brody, Zolochiv district, Lviv region

10.  Lyceum “Dominanta” of the Dniprovskyi district, Kyiv

11.  Boyko Author’s School, Kyiv

12.  Academic Lyceum named after Volodymyr Melnyk of the Obukhiv City Council of the Kyiv region

13.  Berlynskyi General Secondary Education Institution of I-III degrees of the Brodivska City Council of the Lviv region

14.  Voznesenskyi Lyceum named after Taras Shevchenko of the Voznesenska City Council, Voznesensk, Mykolaiv region

15.  State Vocational and Technical Educational Institution “Reutynskyi Professional Agrarian Lyceum”, Reutyntsi village, Konotop district, Sumy region

16.  Novobykiyskyi General Secondary Education Institution of I-III degrees of the Novobasanska Village Council of the Chernihiv region

17.  Natural Science Lyceum No. 145, Kyiv

18.  Shyrokivskyi Lyceum No. 2, Shyroke urban-type settlement, Shyrokivskyi district, Dnipropetrovsk region