|
Earth Week Clean Up! Saturday, April 19, 2008 9 AM to 11 AM Click here for the location of the 29 Nature Sites Cleaned Up in 2007. and 5th annual Countryside Clean Up! April 19, 2008 9 AM to 11 AM Start from Fourth Line and Burnhamthorpe Road West. 15 Schools in Oakville cleaned up their school grounds for Earth Week 2007! List of the 112 Sponsors in 2007 |
|
|
MEDIA RELEASE: Monday, April 23, 2007
"One thousand people made a huge difference for the natural environment by participating in our 16th annual Earth Week Clean Up on Saturday, April 21st," exclaimed Stephen Dankowich, executive director of the Oakville Community Centre For Peace, Ecology And Human Rights (OCCPEHR). “Thirty beautiful nature sites in Oakville were cleaned up by girl guides, scouts and beavers, residents associations, environmental groups, church organizations and hundreds and hundreds of dedicated citizens who are committed to protecting green space in their own neighbourhoods,” remarked Mr. Dankowich. “More than 8,000 metric tonnes (16,000 pounds) of garbage was picked up by the coordinators and volunteers who did an incredible job,” he added. “There were great turn-outs of almost 100 people at the Riverbank Way location (Dundas and Neyagawa), 64 people including 38 children at the Shannon Creek Trail and Parkette, and 85 people at the Glenashton Drive bridge clean up site including the Oakville Phoenix soccer team. A very enthusiastic group of French-speaking scouts led 45 people in a thorough clean up at Glen Oak Trail. The West River Residents Association expanded the clean up from Hogs Back Park to include several parks and parkettes off of Kerr Street. Friends of Bronte Creek Park removed 29 bags of garbage from the gulleys along Burloak Drive. Linda O’Mara of the Oakville Running Club reported that there was less litter on the Osenago Creek Trails but more garbage on Neyagawa Boulevard this year. Renee Lehnen, coordinator at the Sheridan Forest clean up site near White Oaks high school, noted that the 50 volunteers were very happy to help but were amazed and disgusted at the amount of garbage. Sigrid Kajiwara phoned the Peace Centre in the week leading up to the community-wide clean up, received her bags, gloves and posters from us and organized a very successful clean up of Deer Run Park with 39 people,” reported Mr. Dankowich. “It was good to hear so many positive comments from young people like Victoria Gushue, 15, who helped out at the Glenashton Drive bridge location,” said Mr. Dankowich. “I like this because we get to help out our community and make the world a better place,” said Ms. Gushue on Saturday, April 21, 2007. “In addition, OCCPEHR would like to thank the ninety-seven local financial sponsors of the event and we applaud the fifteen sponsoring schools which have done or are doing their own clean-up’s last week and this week. We expect that 4,000 to 5,000 students will be participating. These young people are receiving a good environmental education,” enthused Mr. Dankowich. “Suggestions for how to improve upon the problem of litter included the need for lidded garbage cans in parks, deeper blue-boxes, more involvement of schools and on-going anti-littering campaigns. Allan Smith of St. Jude’s Anglican Church suggested that we distribute the large paper composting bags for those raking up a nature site as the gathered material should be diverted from going into the landfill since it is not garbage,” stated Mr. Dankowich. The types of garbage collected at the community-wide Earth Week Clean up included: coffee cups, metal rods, milk cartons, office chairs, patio furniture, wood, bread tray, carpets, burned furniture, computer keyboards, bikes, many shopping carts, many tires, vacuum cleaner, pitch fork, four sets of doors, Cadillac emblem, wheels, clothes drier, wooden table, golf balls, muffler, cigarette packaging, computers, election signs, sled, pipeline warning sign, lots of candy wrappers and packaging for snacks, garbage blown out from people’s blue-boxes, typewriter, wire, television, beer and liquor bottles, a school desk, lawn chairs, umbrella, street post, golf club, chain-link fencing, bricks and concrete, mattress, scrap metal, curtain rod, blanket, hedge clippers, a bread knife, lots of soft drink containers, clear water bottles, plastic shopping bags, and fast food packaging. “All in all, Oakville’s 16th annual Earth Week Clean Up has been a great success. Let’s make everyday an Earth Day for Oakville,” concluded Mr. Dankowich. - 30 - 
Guess who has organized the most successful Clean Up Campaign in Canada every year since 1997, according to Earth Day Canada? Yes, the Oakville Community Centre For Peace, Ecology And Human Rights has this accomplishment! Join hundreds of local citizens in cleaning up our beautiful creeks, parks, school grounds and lake-front areas. By taking action, we can make a difference for the Earth!
|
