40th Annual River Cleanup A Raging Sucess!

Thanks to over 135 volunteers we picked up about 162 bags of garbage from the banks of the river and all the green spaces from the Deanne House to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. I had so many people call to register this year that I was able to send some extra people to other groups in the Ramsay area to give them a hand cleaning the Elbow as well. A special thanks goes out to my neighbour, Elizabeth Nopper, who decided she was tired of looking at all the garbage built up over the years on the CN Rail property just south of the bird sanctuary. She led a group of 15 people that worked for 3 hours and still couldn’t get it cleaned up entirely. It was an enormous job well done.

I have requested that CN Rail monitor this area and do a regular clean along the fence but I guess we will just have to wait and see what they decide to do as I have not yet received a response to that email.

Another area of major concern was just down stream from the weir. The flood waters left behind over 60 bags of garbage that was all stuck in the trees and shrubs. This was a huge job and the volunteers did a fantastic job. Thank You!

Once again this year we had incredible support from local merchants and neighbors who donated door prizes for the BBQ after the clean up. Mark DeMong and his group from the Shell Lube and Grease Plant not only made a financial contribution they supplied some safety items AND 15 employees who tackled the debris at the Wild Lands Park. Spolumbo’s Fine Foods and Deli supplied sausages and buns and our other major sponsor, Wild Rose Brewery, donated 4 kegs of their terrific beer! Throw in some very talented local musicians, a hot sunny day and you’ve got the makings of a great party. This event goes off without a hitch every year but I could not do it without the generous help of several people that lend me an extra hand. The list is fairly extensive and you know who you are so let me just say a great big personal thanks for everything that you do for me in putting this together for our community. What a great bunch of people you are.

Please take a moment to look over the list of sponsors for this annual event. The next time you are shopping in their stores feel free to thank them for their continued support!

Thanks to Scott Powell for his great photos that captured the day.