Spreading Cheer in the Ger District

It has taken years to flourish, but this former dumpsite turned community park has been nothing but a labor of love for its founder S.Ulziitogtokh.

Ulziitogtokh, known affectionately by the local community as "Ulzii", first noticed the abandoned stone quarry seven years ago when it was being used by locals as a dumpster.

Ulzii was saddened by children playing in the dirty water covered in trash, and saw potential to develop the area into a positive community space.

"I saw people throwing their trash here, and I couldn't yell at them, so I started begging them," the 40-year-old philanthropist said. "I begged them every single day not to throw their trash here until they eventually stopped."

By 2012, Ulzii bought the land and with his family's help, started cleaning every last inch of the area.

Over the years, Ulzii built an office on site and dedicated his time to preserving the lake, planting trees and decorating the surrounds into a clean environment.

Nestled in the ger district at Denjin Hill, Nogoon Nuur "Green Lake" is now a thriving place for families and children to spend time in a clean, green space."After we planted 100 trees, I think people started to notice what a nice place it was," he said. "During spring and summer, the trees look very beautiful, and people thank me, so it's a nice feeling."

In summer, families hire paddleboats and paddle around the lake, and enjoy an ice cream from the canteen. In winter, the lake freezes over and becomes an ice skating rink.

More than 100 children visit every day, and the park is now a valued part of this community.

This month, Ulzii erected a Christmas tree in the middle of the ice skating rink in an effort to spread some New Year's cheer to kids.

"Mongolians give high importance to New Year's celebrations, it's a social time for us," he explained. "So I decided to set up a tree, I wanted a bigger tree to put in the middle but I couldn't afford it, but the kids still seem to like it."

Ulaanbaatar has a lack of public community spaces for families and children, but Nugoon Nuur is one of the few places bucking this trend.Ulzii explains that many children who visit the park are from low-income families.

"People living in this area are poor, they have a monthly salary of around 200,000 MNT," he said. "The price to skate is very cheap, much cheaper than going to the city center, that's why they come here. A whole family can pay 5,000 MNT and have a fun day out.

The park gives them a place to...