Beachcomber tackles trash — and attitudes
Paddler’s goal is to clean up shoreline, get Torontonians to appreciate urban oasis
John Lambersky paddles to an untouched sliver of beachfront, lands his canoe in the sand and zeroes in on his target — a plastic tampon applicator.
Over the past few summers, Lambersky, avid canoeist and kayaker, has removed hundreds of kilograms of trash along the Cherry Beach shoreline. He is the force behind Clean up the Bay, a beach cleanup group that meets twice a week, and is on a mission to change the way city-dwellers view their urban backyard.
“People will see me paddling and say, ‘Is it safe to paddle there?’ ” he said. “These are the same people who spend $5,000 going to Cancun where they literally dump all the sewage right into the lagoon beside the hotel.”
“What we have here is actually an urban wilderness with coyotes and cotton tail rabbits and beavers,” he said, looking to the bay, where a handful of windsurfers whizzed over waves. “It’s a tremendously hidden gem.”
The story behind his volunteerism is a simple one. When walking his dog a few summers ago, he noticed how much trash was strewn about the Cherry Beach dog park. He started picking it up.
In what he calls “mission creep,” he got more ambitious, picking up garbage when he paddled around the bay and collecting litter, enough to fill a canoe.
This summer, Lambersky galvanized a team of around 40 fellow do-gooders to help out, with two or three coming to each cleanup.
“To think that perfect strangers are willing to meet you and paddle with you for two hours, with the sole purpose of picking up trash, is kind of an awesome thing,” he said.
Waterfront parks staff pick up trash along Cherry Beach daily but it still builds up. At Tommy Thompson Park across the bay, there’s only one clean up in the spring and one in the fall, according to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, which co-manages the park with the city.
Paddling across the bay, Lambersky raved about Lake Ontario’s “world class” water quality but slammed the negative attitudes Torontonians have about their own backyards. He wants to change the conversation.
“We don’t all need to spend a million dollars on a cottage . . . that we commute to on weekends,” he said. “I think we can find what we need in our own city.”
After 10 minutes, we arrive at our destination in Tommy Thompson Park. It’s a sandy beach surrounded by lush green bushes and pristine purple flowers. But, Lambersky immediately spots a plastic bag in the water and, armed with a latex glove, he is soon picking up bits of Styrofoam, plastic cigarillo ends, bottle caps and tampon applicators.
Lambersky suspects the trash comes from boats as well as litterers on the beach. He cleans up different spots several times a week and despite this, says the proliferation of garbage doesn’t frustrate him.
“You can’t sweep a floor and expect it to be clean forever,” said the 36year-old teacher at Royal St. George’s College. “But we are definitely making a difference out here.”
Paddling alongside a swan with the whoosh of a plane over head and under ominous-looking clouds hanging in the distance, Lambersky’s volunteer work appears to be situated in an oasis of calm. But it’s not all fun and games. Watch out for the red ants, he warns just before they attack an exposed ankle. Bay cleanups take place Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. from May until Thanksgiving. All are welcome but if you want to save yourself a spot in the canoe, sign up through the website, cleanupthebay.wordpress.com, or contact Lambersky at CleanUpTheBayToronto@gmail.com.