LocationsEnvironmental education begins with Love: The story of Kuralay
August 8, 2025
Kuralay Tuspekova
“As a child, my parents would take me to the nature reserve — we’d watch birds, hike for hours, and camp under the stars. Thanks to them, I developed a deep reverence for everything in Korgalzhyn: its people, its land, its wildlife, and its unique biodiversity,” recalls Kuralay Tuspekova.
The village of Korgalzhyn lies in Akmola region, nestled within the Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve — a UNESCO World Heritage site. Established in 1968 to protect Kazakhstan’s vast wetlands, the reserve is a sanctuary for rare and endangered species. Among its residents are flamingos, Dalmatian pelicans, and more than 365 species of birds — 42 of which are listed in Kazakhstan’s Red Book, and 27 under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. It is also home to 46 species of mammals and 15 types of fish.
Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve
Kuralay returned to Korgalzhyn at the age of 11, after her family moved back to their ancestral home. After finishing school, she left to pursue her studies, and later she found her calling: working with young people and nurturing creative and environmental initiatives. Today, Kuralay is a prominent civic leader, Director of the National Delphic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Chair of the Association of Creative Communities under the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.
Kuralay’s journey has never been a solo one. Her family walks this path with her — every step of the way. Her husband, a tech specialist with a doctorate in sociology, helps craft the scientific backbone of her ideas. Their older sons volunteer as facilitators, mentors, and project coordinators. Their youngest daughter has been volunteering since first grade and has a natural talent for working with children.
“I’m fortunate. My family understands my work and shares my passion — for nature, for youth, and for building strong communities,” she says.
Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve
This love for nature, planted in childhood, grew into a powerful force — the spark behind the creation of the Korgalzhyn Environmental Observatory, an ornithology center, an eco-camp, and, most recently, a climate school.
“One day, while visiting our village for a family event, my husband and I drove out into the steppe. I was struck by the landscape — the very image that inspired Kazakhstan’s national flag: endless plains, a blazing sun, and a golden eagle soaring through a blue sky. I was already working with children at that time, and I suddenly knew — they had to see this. They need to feel this connection. Through nature, we can foster a deep love for our homeland. That’s when it all began,” Kuralay recalls.
In 2018, she founded the nonprofit Korgalzhyn Environmental Observatory and launched an eco-camp for children and youth. Its mission is to engage young people in hands-on ornithology, climate science, and environmental stewardship — and to raise a generation of eco-leaders. “I already had experience designing educational programmes and bringing up creative communities,” she explains. “We were promoting culture and the arts among talented youth, so we decided to expand that approach to include environmental culture too.”
Yet Kuralay quickly realized that existing educational programmes often excluded children with disabilities or special needs. Together with her team, she developed tailor-made, inclusive curricula adapted to the needs of children with disabilities. “It became clear that children with disabilities had few, if any, opportunities to pursue their interests or participate in meaningful ecological work. So, we created special eco-camp sessions just for them,” she says.
Over the past five years, the camp has hosted more than 20 short eco-shifts designed specifically for children with disabilities. These sessions are guided not by parents, but by trained educators, creating an environment where children can socialize, adapt, and truly be themselves. The ideal length, they found, is four days — enough time to make connections and spark curiosity, without overwhelming anyone.
“Now we have an entire community,” Kuralay says. “The kids stay in touch with each other and with us through messaging groups. They go birdwatching in their own towns, send us their observations, and many return to the camp year after year.”
Posters created by the participants of the Climate School
At first, local residents were hesitant about hosting children with disabilities. But by the fourth session, something had shifted. Village children grew curious: they stopped being surprised by sign language, they started playing together, and the summer camp turned into a part of the village’s summer life.
“Then our camp sessions became a summer tradition. Every evening, kids from the camp and the village came together for games and sports. It’s widened their horizons. They’ve learned that people may be different, but we’re all equal — you can be friends even if you speak with your hands. Now, local kids want to become volunteers. They help lead tours, share stories about the reserve, and offer traditional food. These are the moments that mean everything,” Kuralay says.
About three years ago, her team noticed something was missing: there were no children books in Kazakhstan about renewable energy. They launched a practical awareness campaign called "Sun in Every Yard", teaching kids and families how to harness solar energy in daily life. By working with experts, they developed a simple, homemade solar water heater that children built with their own hands using ordinary materials.
More than 1,000 children and families across Akmola and Karaganda regions took part. After learning the theory, they built the heaters and brought them home. A year later, the team returned and found that nearly 50 percent of the families were still using the devices — to warm water for livestock, do the washing, or perform daily chores. “They gained knowledge and skills they actually use,” Kuralay says.
Inspired, some children began entering science fairs with solar projects. For Kuralay, this is proof that hands-on learning in rural communities can change mindsets and open new doors. “I’ve always believed civil society needs to be heard. And local communities must have a stake in these efforts.”
Kuralay Tuspekova with the participants of the Climate School
This year, Kuralay has launched a new educational project: the Climate School, for children and teenagers. Developed by ecologists, teachers, and researchers, the school is a space for playful and immersive learning outdoors, surrounded by nature, right inside the Korgalzhyn reserve. The project is supported by the Global Environment Facility and UNDP in Kazakhstan under the Small Grants Programme.
A new educational center on renewable energy and energy efficiency now operates in the village, alongside the summer climate school. Soon, a national network of school-based eco-clubs will be launched across 10 regions of Kazakhstan.
“The first shift of the climate school brought together eco-activists and teachers from 10 schools. We ran a 10-day intensive course built around a fictional ecological disaster. Every day brought a new challenge — air pollution, water shortages, heatwaves. The kids had to use what they’d learned to solve problems: making a DIY respirator, saving water, and avoiding heatstroke. They built models, solved puzzles, invented new solutions…”Kuralay shares.
The Climate School helps children grasp the causes and the consequences of climate change, learn the principles of sustainable development, and approach nature like real scientists through games, exploration, and inquiry. They gain practical knowledge, experiment with green technologies, and complete eco-leadership trainings to later launch their own eco-clubs back home.
“Our guiding principle is peer-to-peer learning. The kids teach each other. There are no formal lectures, just shared knowledge and experience. Teachers who came to the camp with their schoolchildren told us kids learned faster this way. During the intensive training, they suggested lesson ideas. We’re now designing classroom-ready lesson plans for the eco-clubs in their schools,” she adds.
Participants of the Climate School
Years after that moment in the steppe with the eagle flying overhead, Kuralay is still inspiring children and young people to see nature not just as a backdrop, but as a source of strength, meaning, and identity. Her dream is for every child, regardless of their ability, to feel that they belong, that they can be guardians of the land, and that they can spark change.
Kazakhstan is one of the world’s priority countries for the conservation of wetlands and waterfowl in Northern Eurasia. The country lies along vital flyways and is home to ecosystems that meet the criteria of the Ramsar Convention — a global treaty for the protection of wetlands. These lands are essential for biodiversity conservation and contribute to the sustainable development of adjacent areas, improving the well-being of the local communities. Their preservation calls for collective action: from governments, scientists, and citizens alike.
Kuralay’s story is testament to the power of one voice, rooted in love for the land, to ignite a movement that brings people together. Perhaps among the children of today’s Climate school, the future stewards of Kazakhstan’s nature are already beginning to take shape.
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