Paddlers to clean banks of South Saskatchewan
A group of avid paddlers has chosen to take matters — and garbage — into their own hands to keep the South Saskatchewan riverside clean.
Mike Smith, who started a Facebook group to bring together people who use areas like the Fred Heal Canoe and Kayak Launch near the Beaver Creek Conservation site, said keeping the sites clean is a lot easier than most people think. The “cleanup paddle” the group has scheduled on July 9 is a way for users to get involved, he said.
“I think there’s a lot of people that paddle like me, that want to help but don’t know how to — or if they don’t see other people taking that initiative, they won’t do it,” he said.
The idea for the group was inspired by trail societies in British Columbia, where hikers or environmental enthusiasts band together to help maintain paths and trails in the mountains — not because they are paid to do it, but as volunteers who have their own stake in keeping things clean, he said.
“That’s the biggest thing. I have shown up there to do cleanups, and there’s already been people there with garbage bags, cleaning up. It’s a huge motivator ... lots of people are chipping in.”
Smith put the group together after budget cuts resulted in the Meewasin Valley Authority reducing the services available for taking care of sites like the Fred Heal launch.
Interim MVA CEO Doug Porteous said community stewardship is a major benefit for Saskatoon and the river valley.
“We would not be able to keep Meewasin’s rural river access launches open without those (groups),” he said. “It’s being a good neighbour — it’s everybody coming together as a community to work together to solve a problem.”
Porteous said visitors from around the world have complimented the work of the Saskatoon community in preserving the river valley. He’s confident the authority’s funding concerns will be solved, he added.
Smith said he’s been offered money for cleaning up, but that’s not the point of what he’s trying to accomplish.
“I’m hoping that the (Facebook) page, and the people that are involved with it, will be the force that is always going to be there, whether the government is supplying service or not,” Smith said. “Like it or not, the people that use the rivers and sites are the ones that are there the most.”