Earth Day Clean Up returns for a ‘clean, green, litter-free’ Oakville

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Published April 11, 2022 at 11:07 am

The 31st annual Earth Day Clean Up takes place on Saturday, April 23, 2022. The annual event is organized by the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights. OCCPEHR PHOTO

Oakville residents are being encouraged to do their part in this year’s 31st annual Earth Day Clean Up.

The annual environmental event returns Saturday, April 23 after having been postponed the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organized by the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR), a group of event coordinators and volunteers will join forces at 53 sites across town to help clean up Oakville’s parks, ravines, trails, wood lots and lakefronts.

The theme of this year’s event is “for a clean, green, litter-free Oakville.”

“This community-wide event is an activity that can be attended in a relatively safe and healthy manner,” said Stephen Dankowich, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the OCCPEHR. “The Clean Up is an open-air event taking place in wide open spaces which conveniently allows for ease in social distancing.

“We also are encouraging people to participate in their own family bubble.”

The Clean Up first began in 1932 with just 30 volunteers at one site along the Twelve Mile Creek at Bronte Road and the QEW.

The aim of the annual event, says Dankowich, is to promote awareness and respect for nature and Oakville’s many waterways, beautify local neighbourhoods, build community through environmental activism, protect wildlife and increase awareness of the need to protect biodiversity in Oakville.

“The Clean Up has flourished into a widely anticipated annual activity that tens of thousands of Oakville residents and students have participated in over the past three decades,” said Dankowich. “Coordinators have stepped forward to serve their neighbourhood and have been the public face of this activity.

“It is thanks to their dedication and devotion to the local natural environment and to building community in Oakville that this event has been so successful in accomplishing its goals.”

Volunteers will be provided bags and disposal gloves they can use by event coordinators at each of the 53 sites.

Residents are encouraged to pitch-in at any of the following Clean Up sites:

WARD ONE (5 sites)

  • Bronte Bluffs Park: Shelley Thornborrow, Harry Shea and the Bronte Village Residents Association (BVRA).
  • Bronte Creek Provincial Park: Colleen Moriarty and the Friends of Bronte Creek Park.
  • Bronte Harbour: Lesley McVean.
  • Bronte Road and QEW Carpool: Peter Vandermyden and family.
  • Lakeshore Woods: Lynda Zylik.

WARD TWO (12 sites)

  • Aldercrest Park: Cathy Buchanan.
  • Coronation Park: Seema and Pradeep Kumar and the Halton Malayalees Association.
  • Forster Park and Hogs Back Park: Vanessa Dorrington, Joe Williams and the West River Residents Association (WRRA).
  • Glen Oak Creek Trail at Monastery Drive: Stephen and Connie Wei and the St. Simon Anglican Church.
  • Hopedale Park: Earl and Sharon Weise.
  • Indian Ridge Trail: Donna Sheppard and the South Peel Naturalists’ Club (SPNC).
  • Kinoak Arena and Brook Valley Park: Toaster and Sabrina Dementros and The Oakville Independents.
  • Old Abbey Lane Park and area: Donna and Emily Morano.
  • Valleywood Court: Christine and Robert Schultz.
  • Waterworks Park: Lesley Henshaw and the West Harbour Residents Association (WHRA).
  • Woodhaven Park and Sedgewick Forest: Tracey Ehl Harrison and family.

WARD THREE (6 sites)

  • Busby Park: Stephen Cull and CharterAbility.
  • Dunvegan Park: Paul Dankowich, OCCPEHR Administrative Assistant.
  • Lakeside Park: Julie Hawryszko, Julian Kingston and the Oakville Museum.
  • Maple Grove Park and Arena: Elizabeth Chalmers and the Joshua Creek Residents Association (JCRA).
  • Oakville Curling Rink and Georges Square: Kimberly Cranfield and the Trafalgar Chartwell Residents Association (TCRA).
  • Perkins Passage including Post Park, Maple Valley Park and the Cornwall Sports Park: Lynne Dolan and family.

WARD FOUR (12 sites)

  • Glen Abbey Trail: Nicole and Paul Panabaker.
  • Glen Oak Creek Trail North at Fourth Line and Upper Middle Road: Denise Severin-Prior.
  • Heritage Way Park: Weidong Zhu and the Glen Abbey Neighbourhood Association (GANA).
  • Langtry Park: Devnand Nambiar, a High School student.
  • Millstone Park: Bill and Marlene Keay.
  • Nottinghill Park: Jennifer Monte and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Matthew’s Parish.
  • Ravine at Third Line and Upper Middle Road: Amy Young.
  • 16 Hollow Park: Sharon Brodner.
  • Sandpiper Road and Pheasant Lane: Kimberly Sziraky and family.
  • Summit Ridge Drive Trails: Lynne Jenkins.
  • West Oak Trails Park: Karen Wilson Davis.
  • Woodgate Woods: Voula Caffrey and family.

WARD FIVE (5 sites)

  • Memorial Park: Gita Zoghi.
  • Munns Creek Park and Margot Street Park: David Stefan and family.
  • Oak Park Walk at Memorial Park: Councillor Jeff Knoll.
  • Oxford Park: Michelle and Jeff Sholdice.
  • River Glen Park: Geoff and Mary Hospital.

WARD SIX (9 sites)

  • Algrove Park: Councillor Tom Adams.
  • Bayshire Woods Park and Pinery Pond: Paul Butler.
  • Forest Glade Park: Colin and Norma John.
  • Glenashton Drive Bridge and ravines: Don Meade, OCCPEHR Board Member.
  • Glenashton Park and Iroquois Ridge Community Centre: Jinglie Dou and the Oakville Chinese Senior 99 Association.
  • Iroquois Shoreline Woods: Tracy Zhou.
  • Litchfield Park: Star Helmer.
  • The Brownstones: Leslie Osborne.
  • Valleybrook Park: Joni Babulal and family.

WARD SEVEN (4 sites)

  • Glenorchy Conservation Area: Adnan Manzoor and the GKC Kite Flying Group.
  • Isaac Park: Ajay and Mamta Rosha.
  • Lions Valley Park: Husnain Zakaria and the Islamic Centre of North America, Oakville Chapter.
  • Palermo Park: Sunil Kardar and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh.

For the first time there will also be an afternoon site that residents can pitch in at. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. there will be a clean up of the green spaces from the bend at Kerr St. N. and the North Service Rd. all the way west to Dorval Drive.

Interested volunteers can meet at the plaza for a pizza party.

Those interested in becoming an event coordinator or a volunteer for Earth Day Clean Up can call 905-849-5501 and/or email [email protected] for more information.

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