The 18th annual Earth Week Clean Up on Saturday, April 25, 2009
was organized by the:
Oakville Community Centre
for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR)
P.O. Box 52007, Oakville, ON L6J 7N5
Tel/Fax: (905) 849-5501
E-mail: info@oakvillepeacecentre.org
Website: www.oakvillepeacecentre.org
The incredibly warm weather last weekend led to a record attendance at our Clean Up. We estimate that 2,000 volunteers participated in cleaning up thirty-four nature sites with huge turnouts at Lakeshore Woods, Clearview Park and Riverbank Way.
The amount of garbage removed was phenomenal; a total of 7,070 kilograms was trucked away by Halton Region Waste Management that afternoon; this was a big increase over last year’s 5,000 kilograms picked up.
There were fifty event coordinators who performed a fantastic service for Oakville’s green spaces. Community groups coordinated ten of the thirty-four clean up locations including four residents’ associations (Clearview, Lakeside, West Kerr Village, West River), two faith groups (St. Simon’s Anglican, Trafalgar Presbyterian), and four environmental organizations (South Peel Naturalists Club, Friends of Bronte Creek Park, Oakvillegreen, student eco club at Holy Trinity secondary school).
Eleven schools sponsored the Earth Week Clean Up and more than 3,500 students participated at Chisholm, Munns, Pinegrove, Post’s Corners, River Oaks, Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Peace, Loyola, St. Joseph, Dearcroft/Westwind and Trafalgar Ridge Montessori schools during the week of April 20 to April 24.
The event was sponsored by a total of ninety-one local organizations who donated more than $5,000 towards the success of the clean up. The Town of Oakville donated bags and gloves while Pitch-In Canada also donated bags. Earth Day Canada, of which we have been the local sponsor since 1996, provided posters and other resource materials for our Clean Up.
To all of the clean up coordinators and volunteers, eco-teachers and students, we say “thank you” for taking the time to clean up of some of Oakville’s most beautiful green spaces which can now be enjoyed garbage-free this spring and summer and “thank you” for helping us to realize our goals of promoting awareness and respect for local nature, protecting wildlife, and encouraging environmental activism.
Stephen Dankowich, executive director,
Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR)
(905) 849-5501
Please consult www.ipb.org for more information.
