Tashkent’s first Ecological Park opens its doors

April 7, 2012

Tashkent’s first Ecological Park, a project based on the concept of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, opened its doors on April 7. A brainchild of Gulnara Karimova, the Ecopark has been built by the Fund Forum with support from Mitsubishi Corporation and has found good use for old car tires, plastic bottles and metal pipes in line with the principles of an ecology park. The Tashkent Ecopark, admission to which is free, is a unique place for people to research new ways of caring for the places where they live and work while engaging in leisure activities.

The opening ceremony kicked off at the entrance to the Park where Uzbek pop stars staged barnstorming performances for the public while finishing touches were being made inside the Park. Those attending the festive ceremony included prominent culture and art professionals, members of the diplomatic corps and public organizations, students, school children and journalists, with Gulnara Karimova, the Chairperson of the Fund Forum’s Board of Trustees, Kenji Ito, the Director General of Mitsubishi Representative Office in Tashkent, and Marina Borodina, a sculptor and member of the working group for the Ecopark, giving welcome speeches. Following the ceremony, the guests made their way to the inviting gate of the brand new facility, where they were in for a lot more.

That night visitors to the Ecopark, which is located on the premises of the former Tashkent Zoo, had a great opportunity to listen to an exciting song titled Round Run by Googoosha, with a group of participants staging an equally exciting flashmob dance whose simple but energetic moves drew many visitors to join in.

In another interesting spot in the park, adventure sports lovers could be seen watching spellbinding performances by a group of rollerbladers, bikers and skateboarders with thrilling tricks on a special area, the first of its kind in the country, with quarter pipes and a funbox with rails. This section of the park, pepped up with colorful eco-theme graffiti on the surrounding walls, is an opportunity for young action sports athletes to improve their skills and master new tricks.

To emphasize and boost the Ecopark’s green, several pop stars, famous actors, artists, athletes, children and doctors planted plant sixty lilac saplings and other trees such as a Tree of Love planted by Gulnara Karimova, a branchy Tree of Family by prominent Uzbek folk singer Munojat Yulchiyeva, a blooming Tree of Inspiration by Dildora Jamalova, the director of Uspensky Music School, a Tree of Health planted by several doctors and a dozen of other saplings in a specially allotted section in the Ecopark.

Children were clearly the ones having the most fun. The busied themselves drawing bright images with colored chalks. Within a span of a few minutes the tarmac path was ablaze with children’s colorful artworks. Nearby, another group of children lined up to pit their wits against each other at a creatively designed chess pavilion that features sizable chess pieces attached upside down on the ceiling.

The unusual spots that drew particular attention from the visitors and kids include a giant spider made from metallic pipes with rubber bands stretched between its legs; a slide with stairs made with plastic bottles; a green maze of plants; swings with used car tires for seats; bouquets made of colored sacks with soft stuffing, a remarkable fountain made with used plastic bottles; ceramic sculptures and many more.

In the meantime the art and ceramics studios inside a quaint-looking Crafts Cabin in the center of the Ecopark were bustling with activity, with kids modeling various clay figures and drawing pictures with the assistance of sculptors and artists.

As the grand opening ceremony of Tashkent’s first ecological park came to an end, it is certain to be a favorite spot with many people, particularly those who seek quality pastime and maintain healthy lifestyles. The Ecopark is a call for people in Tashkent to spend more time in the open air with friends and loved ones and learn to care for the environment amidst the booming technologies and rapid change. The Tashkent Ecopark is a natural spot where people may combine leisure with interesting and useful activities: from doing sports and playing games to competitions and charity events.