Penza, 15 September 2017. PenzaNews. Cleaning of the Earl Vladimir Voeykov's estate in Kamenka from shrubs and wood vegetation was the first event within the large-scale project "On the trail of forgotten estates" initiated by the youth of the Penza region and aimed at preservation of cultural and historical heritage.

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About 100 people participated in the environmental campaign that was held on Friday, September 15.

One group of activists came from Penza – specially for this purpose a bus was provided, which was delayed due to morning traffic. Some concerned residents of the city went to the site by private transport.

Another group represented Kamenka.

The task of the young people including both boys and girls was to carry previously cut and sawn branches and logs to the place from which they could be removed by a tractor and KamAZ truck. The local authorities were responsible for preparatory works.

The head of the Kamenka administration Anatoly Dudanov turned to those present during a short formation before the start of the voluntary Saturday work.

"The volume of work is very large since the territory has not been cleaned for several years and the area amounts to about 8 ha," he noted adding that such campaigns should be carried out throughout the whole country.

As it was reported by the head of the Kamenka administration executive office Svetlana Vasilyeva, the territory is planned to be gradually put in order.

"At the moment we are engaged in the development and improvement of the estate – it is planned to cut down all shoots located there in order to carry out conservation of the buildings. [...] We hope, of course, that we will get an investor to restore the estate," she said.

The cleaning took several hours. During its course, the young people made photos at the background of the estate and posted them on social networks with the hashtags #усадьбы58, #забытыеместапензенскойобласти and #последамзабытыхусадеб58. This was expected to make as many students and school pupils interested in the project as possible.

Altogether six cars of logs and branches were removed from the territory.

"If in the past it was difficult to see the complex of the buildings due to the overgrown vegetation, at present it is possible to appreciate the estate's greatness. This can be done both by residents of the region and by potential investors. In preparing for the action, it became apparent that the project had elicit a lively response from the Penza youth, who were willing to spend time on a worthwhile cause. We hope that the initiative 'On the trail of forgotten estates' will attract even more like-minded people," the PenzaNews photo correspondent, member of the organizing committee Maxim Kostyushin noted.

When the cleaning was finished, the activists visited the Alexeevsky spring located nearby and improved in 2016. Previously, the water had been pumped from there straight to the estate.