LAT’s
founding dates to 1992, when a group of people with a common love
for the outdoors and for working wiht youth decided to combine their
forces and create an organization dedicated to youth outdoor work.
How did we choose our name?
Laboratory – we wanted to create an organization
that would be a training ground for outdoor youth sports, a place
for learning and experimentation
Active – this encompasses the physical fitness
aspect of our work, be it hiking, skiing, rock climbing, or orienteering.
Thus, in addition to appreciating nature, youth develop their physical
health and fitness.
Tourism – we conduct our work in nature,
and this part reflects our love of travelling. It also reflects
our connection to eco-tourism, where tourism is conducted in natural
settings in an environmentally responsible way. Our members enhance
their appreciation for nature and their respect for the interdependence
of humans and nature.
LAT is an organization in which youth and adults take part in sports,
tourism, field ecology, assistance to protected areas, and nature
expeditions. Our main areas of work are the following:
•Organizing nature expeditions (including sports expeditions
and competitions)
•Teaching the foundations of nature tourism and expeditions
•Developing the volunteer movement to assist protected natural
areas
•Conducting environmental education
•Promoting civic activism and healthy lifestyle among youth
•Developing artistic and ethical qualities among youth
About 80% of LAT members who have been through our training go
on to receive a minimum of three distinctions in sporting events
(water, skiing, hiking), and more than half of the members in the
last year of training participate in mountain climbing training
and fulfill requirements to be receive the distinction of “Alpinist
of Russia.” Almost all LAT members receive distinctions in
orienteering. Each year at least 1-3 of our alumns go into a profession
related to tourism, mountain climbing, or orienteering. Some of
our members also have started their own youth tourism and sports
clubs.
Our organization was officially registered with the Ministry of Justice
in Buryatia in December 1997. We attract a number of youth to our
organization as well as adults—both parents and people interested
in helping carry out our projects. Since our founding, we have conducted
a variety of activities: hiking trips, nature expeditions, competitions,
exhibits, and excursions. This have included the following:
•Initiating a ski competition called “Veterans’
Race”
•Youth cross-country race
•Regional
orienteering competition, “The Race of the Strongest”,
which is now dedicated to the memory of the famous orienteerist of
Buryatia, Mark Kolosov
•Rafting expeditions for the physically
disabled in the Selenga River
•Construction of a rock-climbing
training wall in School #7 of Ulan Ude
•Ecological camps
on Baikal
•“Path to a Clean Baikal” project,
which built a model ecological trail. We also conduct excursions for
youth on this trail.
A few highlights in our work:
•In 1999, we won third place in a Russia-wide competition
of programs to promote healthy recreation activities for children,
teenagers, and youth
•In 2002, we were a laureate in a competition of completed
socially important projects in the Siberian Federal Region in the
category of “Effective Solu tions to Current Problems of Social
and Economic Development of the Region.”
•Laureate in the Competition of the State Committee on Youth
Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Buryatia for conducting chidren’s
summer camps in 1996-1999, 2000, and 2004
•Youth trained by LAT have been winners in olympiads and conferences
in Buryatia, the Siberian region, and Russia (Galina Pashinskaya,
Tatiana Sergeevna, Nadezhda Mashanova, Valentin Zadevalov, Anastasia
Gordeeva)
•Winners in the 50-year anniversary competition of young tourists
in the Republic of Buryatia
•Winners of the Buryatia Orienteering Cup
As LAT youth grow up, many go on to study in areas related
to tourism and even create their own organizations. But most importantly,
all keep within their love of the outdoors, friendships, and respect
for nature!
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