In a bid to make Earth Day more than just a fleeting moment, scouts on the West Shore embarked on a learning experience that left the community cleaner.
The 10th Juan de Fuca Beaver Scouts had a few environment-themed meetings to go with Earth Day, including visiting GFL's recycling transfer station in Langford. On April 29, the group of kids aged five to eight cleaned up the Colwood Creek Park, pulling three bags of garbage.
“It is important for the Beavers to learn to give back to the community and one way kids this age can do this, is by participating or engaging in a community clean up,” explained Ryan Swan, one of the group’s scouters. “Beavers is an outdoor focused program with emphasis on the environment. One of the lessons we teach in Beavers is, ‘leave no trace’. This involves leaving the environment in a better condition than when you found it, like picking up garbage on a trail campground or park.”
Activities go towards their Earth Beaver Badge and their year end North Star Project.
Members of the 5th Juan de Fuca Scouts tackled trash on land adjacent to Allandale Road (between Veterans Memorial Parkway and Clement Road), collecting an impressive 358 pounds of litter.
The group borrowed litter picking gear from the City of Colwood to clean up the neighbourhood "that was in dire need of attention," said Laura King on behalf of the 5th Juan de Fuca Scouts.
Supporting the scouts was new community cleanup group Promoting Involvement for Community Kleanup Colwood, better known as PICK Colwood.
The new group plans to organize litter cleanup events throughout the year to bring residents together, boost community pride and make the city a cleaner, healthier place. PICK Colwood also plans to collect data on the types of trash they are finding and where it accumulates, to help focus cleanup efforts where they are needed most.
Including the scouts 358-pound haul, in the past month more than 468 pounds of litter have been removed from the community, says Charlotte Gorley, founder of PICK Colwood.
For more information email pickcolwood@gmail.com or visit colwood.ca.
