Earth Day events continue across the city this weekend
Help clean up your neighbourhood or participate in nature challenge
The City of Peterborough will celebrate Earth Week with three events to raise awareness of the important role everyone plays in protecting the environment.
The events are The Great Community Litter Cleanup on Saturday and Sunday; the City Nature Challenge on Friday and Saturday; and the kickoff to the city’s 2024 treeplanting program.
“Peterborough has a great number of individuals and organizations that are committed to the well-being of our environment. There is work happening yearround to reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Earth Week is a time to come together to take action for the betterment of our planet,” said Mayor Jeff Leal, in a press release promoting the events.
The following is information pertaining to each event:
Great Community Litter Cleanup — April 27 and 28
Everyone is invited to get together to organize a litter cleanup in their favourite park, green space, trail or forest. Groups can register their Great Community Litter Cleanup location on the city’s website to receive a free litter cleanup kit and arrange a designated time and location for public works staff to collect the garbage.
Kits will be available for pickup by registered groups at the Public Works office at 791 Webber Ave. during business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday).
To celebrate everyone who is participating in the Great Community Litter cleanup, groups are encouraged to post photos to social media using the hashtag #PtboLitterAction and tag @CityPtbo. The city will share group’s photos to showcase how our community comes together to respect and protect the environment.
In addition to being unsightly, litter can damage the environment by posing a poison risk or choking risk to wildlife, and leaching toxins into our waterways.
“We’re happy to be working in collaboration with engaged community organizations to protect our creeks, wetlands, greenspaces and public spaces from the harms of trash, litter and hazardous waste,” said Coun. Joy Lachica, council representative on the Peterborough Environmental Advisory Committee.
Coun. Lesley Parnell encourages everyone to take an hour or two with family and friends on the weekend to celebrate Earth Day and our love for the wonderful green spaces that make Peterborough shine.
Parnell is hosting a large cleanup along the Crawford Trail on Sunday.
City Nature Challenge Community Bio-Blitz — April 26 and 27
The City of Peterborough is hosting a community bio-blitz on Friday and Saturday to record the diversity and abundance of local wildlife in Ecology Park, 1899 Ashburnham Dr., and areas nearby including Beavermead Park and Farmcrest Park. Free, guided nature walks are planned for both days.
Residents are invited to participate in the four-day City Nature Challenge throughout the weekend, from Friday to Monday.
The city is partnering with the Peterborough Field Naturalists, who will lead the bio-blitz throughout the two days. Specific group searches are planned, such as bird, plants, mushrooms, and insect counts.
This will be Peterborough’s second year participating in the event, which is aligned with the City Nature Challenge, a global competition to record nature sightings in communities from around the world.
All of the observations will be confirmed and tallied as part of Peterborough’s official submission to the City Nature Challenge. Winning communities for the highest number of wildlife observations will be announced by the City Nature Challenge in May 2024.
Details on how to participate in the City Nature Challenge are online at peterborough.ca/Nature.
City tree planting
The city’s 2024 Urban Forestry Plan includes planting 1,000 new trees along city streets and in parks as part of the city’s commitment to manage the urban forest.
As part of the city’s green infrastructure system, street trees provide important benefits to the community. They improve air quality, minimize noise and dust, and reduce stormwater runoff. Trees also benefit individual property owners by increasing property values and decreasing heating and cooling costs.