Sanzhar Myrzagalym
A love for nature
From a young age, I developed a deep love for nature and all living things, and though I am fascinated by various space missions to other celestial bodies, I still believe it is crucial to exert every effort to preserve the diversity of our planet's ecosystems for future generations.
In this section of my portfolio, I have gathered projects through which I tried to make my small but meaningful contribution to the care of our planet.
Caring for animals
During the pandemic, a very clever black cat appeared in the area where I lived. I love all cats, but black ones hold a special place in my heart, perhaps because I feel sorry that they are often treated with prejudice. We named him Yin (an analogy to Yin-Yang, as I first saw him together with a white cat). Yin would wait for us almost every day after work by the entrance of our home, expecting us to feed him, and then he would go about his business :)
Additionally, a few years ago, I witnessed a car run over a stray puppy and drive away as if nothing had happened. I couldn't just pass by and took the puppy to the veterinarian. Fortunately, the injuries were not critical, and we put in all the effort to nurse her back to health. We named her Alpha, and now, three years later, she has become a part of our family :)
One of the simple yet beloved projects of mine was a DIY bird feeder kit that I distributed to my friends and loved ones living in different parts of Almaty. I also sent one to my sister in France, and it's still hanging somewhere in the outskirts of Paris.
The main idea was to create a kit that a child could assemble independently or with the help of parents, creating a fond memory and instilling a love for nature in children.
Vertical farms
A few of the most critical global issues I consider at the moment are the vast amount of food waste in developed countries, contrasted with the presence of hunger in the rest of the world; and the significant carbon emissions resulting from the long-distance transportation of food.
One solution to these problems is the highly distributed cultivation of vegetables, fruits, and greens in the same place where they will be consumed.
As a passionate enthusiast of agrotechnologies, I genuinely believe that only the sensible application of methods such as vertical farming, automated irrigation, hydroponics, and aeroponics can address these challenges.
That’s why at Sheberkhana, we have always supported projects related to agritechnology and frequently experimented with new approaches.
Air pollution
Almaty, the city where I was born and raised, unfortunately, ranks as one of the most polluted cities when it comes to air quality. Although the problems are evident (an excessive number of vehicles in the city, coal-fired power plants), government authorities are not in a hurry to take any action.
In 2019 I attempted to analyze air pollution data in five industrial and densely populated cities in Kazakhstan, for which I officially requested historical data from the Ministry of Ecology. My shallow research uncovered significant data gaps, frequent sensor calibration issues, and misleading data visualization aimed at concealing violations of WHO norms.