Dozens of corporate volunteers supported the From a Spring to the Ocean campaign offered by the Unified Volunteer Centre, the Murmansk Region, which is held in the region together with the Clean Arctic federal project. On June 30, the volunteers cleaned three well-springs and took water samples together with the scientists.
There are over 70 springs in the Murmansk Region used by hundreds of people every day, but the condition of many well-spring sites leaves much to be desired. The Unified Volunteer Centre and the Clean Arctic project selected 10 springs and invited the most active corporate volunteers to help them put these springs in order.
The campaign was supported by the major companies operating in the Murmansk Region such as the Murmansk Sea Commercial Port, Norilsk Nickel (Kola Mining and Metallurgical Plant), Olcon (Olenegorsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant), TGC-1, MOESK (Murmansk Regional Power Grid Company), power supply companies Atomenergosbyt, Murmanenergosbyt, as well as the volunteers of the Regional Volunteering Centre based in the Murmansk Region. According to Evgenia Chibis, the initiator and driving force of the campaign and the Head of the Unified Volunteer Centre, the From a Spring to the Ocean federal project solves two problems at the same time.
“Firstly, there are very active socially responsible companies operating in the Murmansk Region, and the idea has been up in the air for a long time to unite them with a common goal and joint activity, to raise corporate volunteering to a new level. The idea of a large-scale campaign came and we became even stronger when the Clean Arctic project joined us. Secondly, the well-springs are very interesting locations. In the North, many people prefer spring water to tap water, as the spring water is often really good. However, the sites around these springs usually need better care. Our goal is to put them in order, as well as to thoroughly study the properties of water in each particular well-spring. We are thankful to the scientists of the Kola Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) who regularly carry out this study,” said Evgenia Chibis, Head of the Unified Volunteer Centre.
When choosing the spring locations, the organizers of the campaign relied on the study carried out by the polar researchers from the Kola Scientific Centre of the RAS who analyzed the chemical composition of water samples from 24 springs. Thanks to the support of the Clean Arctic project, the researchers will continue their study to find out the effect of the spring water on berries and mushrooms growing nearby. Everyone can get acquainted with the results of their research. To do this, information plates with QR-codes will be provided at the sites.
“The Clean Arctic federal project greatly appreciates the support of the volunteer organizations, corporate volunteers, the scientific community and conscious locals who are ready to make their contributions. We are pleased to see that the Murmansk Region is actively participating in the large-scale clean-up activities in the Arctic zone. The From a Spring to the Ocean project is of great importance for the Murmansk Region, I would like such campaigns to become an example for other regions, and we will make every effort to successfully implement them,” Ruslan Gubaidullin, the Chairman of the board of the Clean Arctic Autonomous Nonprofit Organization, emphasized.
On June 30, the largest stage of the From a Spring to the Ocean environmental campaign took place. The volunteers from the Murmansk Sea Commercial Port, Murmanenergosbyt and TGC-1 companies held subbotniks (volunteer community cleanup days) near the Tserkovny (Church) Spring, Fadeyev Ruchey (Fadeyev Stream) and Verkhnetulomsky Spring, they improved the paths to the springs, and built new stairs and gazebos at some sites.
“We have never made structures for a rocky terrain and the design was thought out and it was labour of love. We used our imagination,” said Igor Pavlov, a volunteer from Murmanenergosbyt who took part in the campaign at the Tserkovny Spring.
“We carried out preparatory work, discussed with the local people and clarified what they would like to see on the site of the spring, in addition to its cleanliness. Many people wanted the existing bridge to be replaced. It used to be shabby, uncomfortable, and unsafe. So, we have renovated and reinforced it, the access to the well-spring is easy now,” said Victoria Ilyina, Coordinator of the volunteer movement of the Murmansk Sea Commercial Port who participated in the campaign at the Fadeyev Ruchey Spring.
“There are two hydroelectric power stations (HPS) on the Tuloma River. The well-spring is also popular among our employees. We willingly joined this project and we are happy to receive positive feedback from everyone who uses spring water, they tell us how this place has changed for the better,” Igor Patsan shared his impressions, he is Director of the Tuloma and Serebryanskiye HPS Cascade and he took part in the campaign at the Verkhnetulomsky Spring.
The From a Spring to the Ocean project was a continuation of the joint campaign held by the Clean Arctic together with the Unified Volunteer Centre of the Murmansk Region that took place in the fall of 2021. In September, volunteers removed 5 tonnes of garbage during large-scale cleanups on the shores of the water reservoirs.
The second season of the Clean Arctic federal project started on May 28 in the Murmansk Region where hundreds of volunteers collected 12 tonnes of garbage in the coastal areas of the cities of Murmansk, Kandalaksha, and Kirovsk. The participants in the second stage of the federal project were greeted by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
Large-scale events were also held in the Arkhangelsk Region, in the Republic of Karelia and in the Krasnoyarsk Territory where work is in progress as part of the Clean Norilsk programme being implemented by the Norilsk Nickel company under the auspices of the Clean Arctic project.
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.
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