Valeriia Kolodezhna

Valeria Kolodezhna is an environmental educator and founder of the NGO EDUna: Education about Nature, working to transform how Ukrainian youth connect with nature — through science, creativity, and empathy. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Valeria was a geography teacher in Kyiv. Faced with war, she pivoted from the classroom to the frontlines of environmental protection — coordinating conservation projects, visualizing war’s ecological damage, and empowering communities through learning. In 2023, she became a National Geographic Explorer, creating interactive learning materials about Ukraine’s wetlands in Polissia. A year later, she expanded her skills in the U.S. through a field-based program on nature interpretation and community engagement. Today, as an EaP Civil Society Fellow, Valeria is piloting educational programs at a swamp with the team. Her mission is bold yet simple: to transform an experience of nature into a force for resilience for Ukrainians.