In the Karelia region, the Clean Arctic initiative has launched a campaign to restore the land around the city of Kem. The project’s press team confirmed the start of field cleanup efforts and outlined the ongoing plan to push forward with restoration activities in the coming weeks as part of a broader environmental remediation program.
The cleanup schedule extends through June 30, with initial operations focused in the Rabocheostrovsky village. This site holds cultural significance because it was a filming location for the well-known movie The Island, which featured actor Pyotr Mamonov. Beyond its cinematic fame, Rabocheostrovsky is historically tied to the Kemsky crossing point that linked the Solovetsky labor camp complex a century ago, a stark reminder of the region’s layered past and the enduring importance of land stewardship.
Today volunteers shifted attention to Yak Island, initiating a challenging cleanup effort. The mission required careful logistics, including transporting environmental volunteers by boat to the island’s shores. Yak Island attracts travelers for its natural beauty, yet it bears a heavy burden from litter carried by tidal action from the White Sea. The cleanup aims to restore the shoreline and protect local ecosystems while supporting tourism that respects the environment.
Andrei Nagibin, who leads the Clean Arctic project, highlighted the expedition’s distinctiveness and its potential to inspire broader conservation messaging across Karelia. He also pointed to recent successes in expanding and improving tourist routes within the region, signaling how environmental work and sustainable travel can reinforce one another when managed responsibly.
Project organizers noted that the amount of waste encountered in the area is relatively small for an Arctic landscape, a positive sign for ongoing cleanup efforts. Over a three-year span, participants have reclaimed roughly 50 tons of refuse and restored 163 hectares of land to a more natural state, a testament to steady progress and coordinated action among volunteers and local communities.
Throughout the initiative, approximately 80 volunteers from various Russian regions have contributed their time and energy. Despite adverse weather conditions, including persistent rain, the teams managed to remove nearly 500 kilograms of garbage, demonstrating resilience and commitment to environmental restoration even when conditions were less than ideal.
Over the three seasons of operation, the Clean Arctic project has mobilized more than 6,000 volunteers who collectively cleaned 491 hectares and removed about 12,000 tonnes of waste. A long-standing priority since 2023 has been supporting the families of air defense personnel by improving their housing arrangements, reflecting a broader social dimension to the environmental effort and its regional impact.
Earlier efforts by Clean Arctic volunteers included a large haul of tires, with roughly 73 tonnes collected along the Usinsk–Krasnoyarsky corridor highway, underscoring the scale and variety of waste the program has addressed in its multi-year campaign. This ongoing work emphasizes a holistic approach to cleaning, restoration, and community support across the Arctic landscape.