SPRING CLEANING IN CITY
Judy Johns shows a bike wheel found during the city’s 50th annual Pathway and River Cleanup on Sunday. Nearly 3,000 volunteers collected trash from Calgary’s parks, green spaces, pathways and river banks to help beautify our city.
A legless Roman statue, a valve, a baking pan, a bicycle frame and a laptop were just a few of the many oddities found during the 50th annual Pathway and River Cleanup.
Nearly 3,000 volunteers gathered Sunday morning to remove debris accumulated over the winter in Calgary parks, green spaces, pathways and river banks.
“There are people who throw their trash around anywhere and it affects the image of Calgary,” said Ryley Crow, a youth volunteer.
“We need to continue doing this so when people see our parks and paths, they see a nice, clean area.”
Crow said this is his first year volunteering, but definitely won’t be his last as he’s working toward recruiting even more volunteers for future projects.
“I would like to see even more people contribute and I will continue to participate because it’s a great experience,” said Crow.
The close to 3,000 volunteers were divided into 145 separate groups, each tending to a different area of the city.
The groups varied from church groups, community groups and corporate groups, as well as a youth nature group cycling around, handing out supplies and interacting with the volunteers.
Maggie Nelson, volunteer program adviser for the City of Calgary, said the annual debris pickup was introduced in 1967 by 12-yearold Sandra Crawford, who saw a chance to make a difference.
“She saw an opportunity to clean up along the river banks and we’ve continued having the event ever since,” said Nelson.
She said the cleanup continues to see a spike in volunteers each year, including an increase of more than 200 participants this year compared to 2016.
The cleanup covers more than 200 kilometres of pathways and green spaces, along with the banks of the Bow River, Elbow River and Nose Creek.
“It’s the first big spring cleaning of the year,” said Nelson.
“A healthy, green city means healthy citizens.”