The volunteers who took part in the Clean Arctic project returned to Salekhard after a four-day expedition to Mount Lyokvozh in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District (YaNAD). All these days, the project volunteers were busy collecting garbage from the area of the abandoned communication station located at an altitude of more than 1,100 metres above sea level. The expedition was organized jointly with the Green Arctic interregional public organization. The volunteers shared the results of their work at a press conference held in the District administration. This is reported in an article published by cleanarctic.ru.
Alexander Efremov, Head of the volunteer groups of the Clean Arctic project, said that every day, the expedition members had to climb about 8 km uphill, it took them almost three hours to get there, and they went back faster as it took them about an hour and a half to return.
During the expedition, ten volunteers - in difficult climatic conditions - collected and prepared for disposal over 11 tonnes of waste, including 10 tonnes of metal scrap and 1.4 tonnes of household waste such as plastic debris, glass, etc.
The expedition participants note that despite a large amount of work that the volunteers had to complete in a short time, the team was able to enjoy the natural beauties of the Arctic. The group visited the Topographov Glacier enjoying a stunning view of the mountains of the Polar Urals from the height of the mountain range. The Clean Arctic’s volunteer camp was set up near a very picturesque lake.
The volunteers from different cities of Russia took part in the expedition, they came from Moscow, Voronezh, Khadyzhensk, Naberezhnye Chelny, and Kemerovo. A thorough pre-screening of the applications for volunteering was carried out as well as a necessary briefing of the volunteers. They spent all days in the field. In the mountains, the volunteers faced difficulties as the Arctic weather was full of surprises with temperature drops and gusty winds that almost blew the tents over.
The way back from the foot of Mount Lyokvozh also took several hours, they travelled most of the way using all-terrain vehicles, then they took the ferry and finally, went by bus to the centre of the YaNAD.
“For the volunteers in the Clean Arctic project, this was a new experience because our volunteers had not previously taken part in cleaning up the areas in the mountains. The expedition is over, and now we can say with confidence: we did it. The weather conditions were difficult with strong winds, rain, cold, but no one gave up or asked to go home, all the volunteers in our team knew exactly what they were there for, and completed all the tasks,” Ruslan Gubaidullin, Chairman of the Board of the ANO (Autonomous Nonprofit Organization) Clean Arctic told.
The work of the Clean Arctic volunteers on the Yamal Peninsula was also appreciated by Dmitry Artyukhov, Head of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District who emphasized that the Yamal had serious experience in cleaning up the accumulated debris damaging the environment.
“With the help of volunteers, the islands of Bely and Vilkitsky have been restored to their original state, and the cleaning campaign on the Kharasavey Cape is nearing completion. This year is the Year of Ecology in the YaNAD and we have launched a lot of projects of various scales, and we see the desire of the Yamal people to participate in the eco-campaigns, the residents put forward about 700 eco-initiatives, the best of them were launched,” said Dmitry Artyukhov.
This season, the Clean Arctic volunteers in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District will work at two more locations - at the former polar station of Marre-Sale and in the abolished village of Polyarny. The waste left over from the Soviet days will also be collected and prepared for removal.
Last year, the Clean Arctic held its campaigns in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District on the coast of the Kara Sea; in the village of Kharasavey, the Clean Arctic volunteers collected 43 cubic metres of combustible waste and over 21 tonnes of scrap metal. On the uninhabited Island of Vilkitsky, they prepared over 3,000 empty fuel drums for their removal in just a couple of weeks.
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The Clean Arctic project is a large-scale one to clean up the Arctic area from waste accumulated since the Soviet times. The idea was originally conceived by Dmitry Lobusov, Captain of the ‘50 Years of Victory’ nuclear icebreaker, and Gennady Antokhin, Soviet and Russian icebreaker captain, Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation.
The Clean Arctic project has become a platform that brings together public and volunteer organizations, researchers, heads of various regions, and business community. The project partners are MMC Norilsk Nickel, PhosAgro, and the Russian Railways.
