A group of volunteers spent some time Aug. 18 and 19 working to clean up the south shore of the lake.
“Sometimes we have to buck up and look at cleaning it ourselves,” said organizer and Kinniburgh resident Aaron Dyck.
He said that he uses the pathways a lot either biking, walking his dog or just getting out to walk himself.
“After a short time I realized as the winds were picking up there was lots of garbage building up on the edges,” he said.
He said that he had been thinking about how something needed to be done and that it was a job too big for just one person to tackle.
Dyck decided to try and organize a cleanup and turned to Facebook to do it.
“I decided to just take a couple photos on a walk and just see who was willing to come out and do a bit of cleaning,” he said.
This was the first time that Dyck had ever tried to organize a community volunteer event like this.
About a dozen people came out on Aug. 18 to help, a number that made Dyck happy with the support his idea has received from the community.
“I’m relatively pleased with the amount of people that have come out,” said Dyck.
They collected more than 20 bags of garbage. The items picked up covered everything from plastic and Styrofoam, food containers, some lost clothing items, and cans of spray paint.
In addition to the volunteer support, they also reached out to the city and were given a box of gloves and bags for the clean-up.
Shorelines are a shared treasure, and should be cared for by those that enjoy them. Even though most citizens aren’t litterbugs, being in a windy place like Alberta means we have to be diligent to tackle the trash if we want to live in a clean place. I pick up all the shoreline trash along the Bow by Bowness, and it needs it the most in the summer when the rafters leave there beer cans all over. Thanks for being part of the solution Aaron!