Volunteers clean up coulees
COULEE CENTRE EVENT ATTRACTS HUNDREDS
More than 1,200 volunteers from 65 organizations worked to remove 530 bags of trash from the City’s river valley.
This year is the 10th anniversary of Coulee Clean-Up, and organizers are calling the event a successful one. It is organized annually by the Helen Schuler Nature Centre.
Volunteers remove garbage blown in by the wind or carelessly left behind by visitors to the area.
Among the unusual items collected this year were: four DVD players on the beach at Alexander Wilderness Park; a vacuum cleaner in Pavan Park; a Stetson cowboy hat at the entrance to Popson Park; $20 cash on campus at the University of Lethbridge; and a large machete found near the natural playground in Indian Battle Park.
In 10 years, more than 3,650 bags of trash has been removed due to the efforts of volunteer participants. The effects of the program are evident with more people taking part, more areas of the river valley being covered, and less accumulated garbage being found year-over-year.
“The support from the community for Coulee Clean-Up has been great! We still have groups organizing their own clean-ups through the summer months,” Curtis Goodman, Resource Development Coordinator at the Nature Centre stated in a news release.
“The Nature Centre will always provide support and supplies to individuals or groups who want to do their own Coulee Clean-Up.”
Visitors to the area are asked to be mindful of their trash to ensure it does not end up in natural areas. Garbage affects the aesthetic value of the river valley. Trash can also pose a hazard to wildlife.
The Nature Centre has provided some tips on reducing litter: ensure there is a lid on your garbage bin; ensure all garbage is bagged and tied tightly; investigate sources of garbage on your street and talk with neighbours about how to reduce litter in your neighbourhood; reduce the amount of waste you generate with a reusable beverage container; and have a conversation with the litterbugs in your life about how garbage affects our community.
“We hope that one day there will be no need for Coulee Clean-Up – where everyone helps to keep garbage in its place,” stated Goodman.
Anyone is interested in taking part in conservation projects hosted by the Helen Schuler Nature Centre, visit the Nature Centre or go to Lethbridge.ca/HSNC and explore upcoming “Volunteer” opportunities.
The next Invasive Weed Pull will take place July 20 at Elizabeth Hall Wetlands. The next Shoreline CleanUp will take place on July 22, also at the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands.