File:FrontLines-EGAT 2011 Environment Photo Contest Top Entry (5842273037).jpg

A USAID-funded project in St. Petersburg, Russia, demonstrated practical ways people could conserve resources and save energy. This small masterpiece against the background of a grim city landscape was created by residents of a building in St. Petersburg. They have united in an eco-group – a small sustainable community that implements the principles of resource saving. They live by the slogan “Start saving the planet in your kitchen.” In the basement of their building. they breed California worms that produce compost, which is used for growing vegetables on the roof. Pictured reclining at the rooftop garden, Anna Sokol, chairperson of the Roof Gardening Club, does not complain about her tiny pension: “Many residents of our building cannot afford a dacha, so why can’t we go up on our own roof and start working for ourselves!”