In 1996 Professor Maciej Nowicki was granted Der Deutsche Umweltpreis, a very prestigious award for activities in environmental protection, commonly called an environmental Nobel. Professor Nowicki has donated almost the whole award for the establishment of the foundation supporting graduates specialising in environmental protection, i.e. for practical training in the best environmental organizations in Germany. Having found out about this, Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, the biggest German foundation, has earmarked DM 3.3 million for supporting this initiative. Thanks to this, practical trainings for 15-17 graduates are financed each year. Other positive effects of the initiative are presented in the article.