On July 10, 2025, a Saturday event was held on the banks of the “Koshkar Ata” river, jointly organized by the Al-Farabi district akimat and the city branch of the “AMANAT” party. This action was held within the framework of the “Clean Kazakhstan” national project and is aimed at strengthening environmental culture and preserving and restoring clean and green areas of the city. The Saturday activities were attended by employees of the district akimat, party members, employees of the Al-Farabi municipal state institution, and activists, who contributed to solving the problem of environmental protection with their own hands.

The “Koshkar Ata” riverbed, located in the Al-Farabi district, received special attention on July 18, 2025. More than 50 people took part in the event, which was planned for this Saturday, and 4 special municipal vehicles were involved. As a result, about 2 tons of household and natural waste were removed: plastic bottles, polyethylene waste, wood chips, leaves and fallen branches were collected productively. In addition, as part of the campaign, work was carried out to improve the depth and bottom of the riverbed, and silt and weeds were cleared. This event is aimed at ensuring the stable movement of water flows and improving the health of the ecosystem.

There are several important aspects of the work carried out: first, it will have a positive impact on the ecology of the river. As the riverbed is cleaned, water quality will improve, and biodiversity - the growth of plants and aquatic animals - will be observed. In addition, a safe and pleasant environment will be created for people walking along the banks - residents and tourists - which will also contribute to public health.

Senbilik is an event that affects the consciousness of participants in environmental protection. The signatures of more than 50 people contribute to changing the difficult lifestyle, strengthening the ecological culture. Special equipment works, implementing environmental standards in a pilot mode: collecting open waste, placing it in separate containers and directing it for legal processing.

It is known that similar actions were held in this region in previous years. In 2024, in the same June, a cleanup was held in other parts of the Al-Farabi district as part of the “Clean Kazakhstan” campaign, but the ecosystem was not fully restored, and in some places there were separate areas where garbage was accumulated. During those actions, local volunteers removed about 30 tons of garbage, but due to the small number of equipment, the work was carried out on a small scale. Also, the environmental action was only a one-day event: the local akimat and municipal institutions participated only on that one Saturday, and further continuation of the actions was not envisaged.

In 2023, large-scale actions were organized along various rivers and parks in Shymkent. For example, 80 volunteers removed more than 10 tons of garbage on the banks of the Tosynbulak Canal that year. However, no in-depth analysis of the ecosystem was carried out in those years. Ecological monitoring was carried out only with the participation of a few local eco-lawyers and students, and the results were not widely published. The failure at that time was that technological measures to correct the depth of the riverbed and water quality were not planned, so the water flow stopped in some places, some plants withered, and the animal population decreased.

This year's 2025 Sabbath is different: a comprehensive impact on the ecosystem was envisaged, and a number of technical solutions were used to clean the riverbed. These are measures of a higher level than in previous years. After this event, the issue of water quality control was raised, and special monitoring groups began to take water samples from the river and conduct research. This is a new step in the ecological strategy compared to previous years.

Impact on the state of the ecosystem

Removing the debris will help restore the river ecosystem. By removing all the silt, sediment, and other volatiles from the riverbed, water movement will improve and pollen and pollution will decrease. This will help stabilize the oxygen levels in the water, restoring the vitality of fish and aquatic plants. Also, by maintaining and pruning trees along waterways, the risk of falling branches will be reduced.

In post-campaign analyses, experts noted an increase in biodiversity in some parts of the river, with some wild plants reviving and aquatic animal populations increasing. Expert data confirming this is expected to be presented in the coming months.

The AMANAT party and the Akimat have undertaken to continue the work after this campaign. In the next stage, according to the plan, volunteers will regularly organize river cleaning Saturdays - every month. In addition, regular monitoring will be carried out by car. In turn, local schoolchildren and youth organizations will be given environmental lessons, education in the field of ecotrope regulation and biological awareness.

Increasing environmental awareness is a long-term process. Through this campaign, residents will be more responsible for the river area, not sitting around during their vacations, not taking out their own garbage, but instead taking care of cleanliness and nature.

The ecological weekend on the banks of the Koshkar Ata River on July 18 was an event that significantly improved the experience of previous years and had a tangible impact on the ecosystem. This is an important step towards the formation of an ecological culture, sustainable maintenance of the city's sanitary conditions, and strengthening responsibility for the green world. We are confident that in the future, the regularity and quality of events will increase, and Shymkent will become a model capital for the preservation and restoration of the ecosystem.