Hundreds of students, university staff, volunteers and eco-activists joined together in one big labor team in order to make the favorite vacation spot of Rostov residents and guests of the city even more clean and cozy.

The Rector of SFedU Inna Shevchenko thanked all the participants of the subbotnik for their joint work, spending time together in such a wonderful, in some sense, holy place and very dear to everyone who comes into contact with the Southern Federal University in life.

"Everyone who is here today is at the call of their soul, at the call of their heart, with a great desire to be together. Every year students, teachers, deans, directors of departments, the rector's office put their hand, soul, heart to this. The Botanical Garden is not only a cultural, natural, protected place, but also a real center of science and education. I wish everyone to keep this spark of mood, clean air, thoughts, smiles and joy from today. And I congratulate you on the upcoming holiday – the Day of the Great Victory!", – Inna Konstantinovna noted in her speech at the solemn part of the subbotnik.

Vice-Rector for Educational Work and implementation of youth programs of SFedU Yakov Aslanov commented on the significance of the event:

"Our annual clean–up "Blooming Garden" is a good tradition. The university is generally famous for its traditions. Therefore, in May-the end of April, we all gather in order to make the Botanical Garden of the University a little cleaner. And, of course, to spend time usefully. Because today, in addition to the clean-up day itself, the Ecopeneration festival is taking place, where our students studying at SUNCA, college, lyceum can improve their skills and have a good time. This is a good, unifying event for the development of the corporate culture of our beloved Southern Federal University."

All departments of the Southern Federal University, including representatives of the Taganrog campus of the Southern Federal University.

Such a collective event has a very important social significance, new acquaintances appear here, the general unity of the entire university is felt. I teach at the Faculty of Chemistry and saw my students here today," shared Alexander Zagrebaev, Ph.D., engineer at the International Research Laboratory of Functional Nanomaterials.

Teams of students, teachers and city volunteers, under the guidance of experienced employees of the Botsad, were engaged in cleaning the territories from garbage and dry shrubs and trees. According to the director of the Botanical Garden of the Southern Federal University Tatiana Varduni, every year during the clean-up after a large-scale cleaning of the territory, from 2 to 3 tons of garbage collected by the participants of the eco-action are taken out.

"I want to note that the amount of garbage in the Botanical Garden is decreasing every year. Gradually, visitors come to realize that the cleanliness and comfort of the surrounding nature depend on their culture of behavior. Visitors to the Botanical Garden have become more careful about vegetation and leave less garbage behind," commented Tatiana Varduni.

Each division had its own section assigned to it. So, students of the SUNC of the Southern Federal District together with the Lyceum of the Southern Federal University were engaged in cleaning the site from the main entrance to the economic department, and representatives of the Academy of Physical Culture and Sports were ennobling the territory on which the nut collection is located. The staff of the FOH Research Institute worked in the orchard, and the Academy of Psychology and Pedagogy put things in order in the arboretum. The team of the Department of Advanced Development, construction and Operation removed garbage and dry vegetation from the territory adjacent to the source of Seraphim of Sarov. The entire territory of the Botsad was divided into 32 sites, and representatives of the SFedU divisions and eco-volunteers worked on each of them.

Participants of the subbotnik of all ages noted the importance of such a university-wide event.

After the hard work, the participants were able to relax in the clearing, taste fragrant porridge from the field kitchen, take part in sports games, various quizzes and contests, as well as in the events of the ecology and creativity festival.

"Today the weather is beautiful, I see a lot of relatives, friends, familiar faces, so today I am happy and pleased that there is a great opportunity to spend this day in a team in nature, in our favorite Botanical Garden.

I studied at the law faculty of the Russian State University in 1993-1998, we communicated well with representatives of the Botanical Garden, I knew its director. We often visited this place, there were the same subbotniks. Therefore, the Botanical Garden is my native, close and beloved. I see how it is developing, what is being added to it, and I rejoice at its success," said Sergey Dyuzhikov, chairman of the Trade Union Organization of the SFedU, head of the Department of Applied Conflictology and Mediation of the SFedU.

A stage was set up in the central clearing of the Botanical Garden, where the awarding of letters of thanks to the participants of the subbotnik was held. The Blooming Garden ended with the Ecopeneration festival, aimed at popularizing environmental volunteerism in the Rostov Region.