Spring cleaning is starting from the ground up this year with the commencement of Pitch In Week. From Monday to Sunday (April 21 to 27) garbage-picking events have community members greening up areas across town.Council members led by example on Monday as they blew away the competition in the Fastest Picker Showdown on by Howe Sound Secondary. Up against two other teams from The Chief staff and Howe Sound Secondary, they ran through the trees alongside the school securing the win with the discovery of a discarded shopping cart.Carney's Recycleman handed the team the coveted picker trophy."We never win anything. This is huge!" laughed Coun. Patricia Heintzman.Principal Nancy Campbell said her students would be back with a vengeance next year."You had some very zealous people out there," she said later.All in all, the event produced more than 15 bags of garbage picked form the high school perimeter.Pitch-In events continued throughout the week with the 20-Minute Makeover Challenge on Wednesday (April 23) where businesses and residents were encouraged to go outside and pick up litter for 20 minutes.On Saturday and Sunday (April 26 and 27), Carney's staff are expecting landfill pandemonium with Free Dump Days where residents can dispose of non-hazardous residential waste for free."It's wild," said Carney's spokesperson Michelle Graye. "It's my first year here but I've been told there are going to be people lined up to the highway."Over the weekend, residents are also encouraged to take part in community clean-up events where groups adopt a street or area to make trash-free.In Dentville, the Water Trail Action Group and Streamkeepers Society are holding a clean-up effort with a focus on trails and waterways. Adults and kids are invited to bring their rubber boots or hip waders to the empty lot by the Skateboard Park entrance at 10 a.m. on Sunday (April 27). With the help of a canoe, the crew will clean up the Britannia Slough, Wilson Slough and Discovery Trail.In honour of the week's events, local school kids shared their own ideas about recycling through Recycleman's Poster Contest sponsored by Carney's and the District of Squamish.Students from Kindergarten to Grade 7 produced posters along the theme "Working together to make a difference. Recycle and help keep Squamish clean."Graye said they received more than 400 submissions from schools across town and hope to pick the winner soon.The school with the highest participation per capita wins a cash prize, while individual winners for each grade get Brennan Park passes.
