A pop can here, a plastic bag there, cigarette butts almost everywhere: Take a walk along the Squamish waterfront and mixed with the rolling waves and driftwood, there is sure to be garbage.
The annual Shoreline Cleanup, organized by the Squamish Terminals, was originally sparked by the increasing amount of debris workers at the terminal saw washing up, according to Erin Yeo, spokesperson for the event.
“You see the garbage that accumulates and we thought, ‘What can we do to help the environment that we work in?’” Yeo said.
The goal is to raise awareness.
“We are so lucky to live here, and you want to keep it beautiful,” she said.
Cleanup areas include the Spit, estuary and Squamish Oceanfront Lands up to and including Cattermole Slough, Nexen Beach and the Mamquam Blind Channel.
This year marks the fifth annual shoreline cleanup. Yeo said she hopes this year’s event draws as many volunteers as last year, when a record 225 Squamish residents came out to pick up the trash.
“Many hands make light work,” said Yeo.
Although the event has grown every year, Yeo said the event can’t get much bigger because volunteers are entering sensitive areas.
“You don’t want them trampling in the estuary,” she said.
Yeo said the strangest thing that has been discovered during a cleanup was an old wooden toilet seat.
“It is not really often you come across wooden toilet seats, and I wouldn’t want to be the one that had to sit on it,” Yeo said with a laugh.
The most common thing volunteers scoop up is cigarette butts, Yeo said, followed by plastic packaging and bags.
Following the cleanup, a barbecue will be held. Yeo said volunteers are encouraged to bring their own reusable cups and plates to reduce the amount of waste created.
The cleanup will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. as part of the national Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.
Volunteers are asked to meet at O’Siyam Pavilion (the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Main Street). All supplies are provided.
For more information, contact [email protected].
