Kudos to all the groups that celebrated Earth Week-Day by cleaning up litter and assorted discarded waste in their communities and along back roads throughout the twin county region.

But despite years of educating the public that discarding junk and household waste is a crime against the natural environment, uncaring individuals continue to scar our local landscape with their “waste.”

Environmentalist, Doug Murdoch of Owen Sound, is astounded about the amount of litter and garbage he witnesses particularly in roadside ditches. “I just can’t believe it, the garbage,” he said recently while he and some of his fellow Outdoors Adventures club members tackled a cleanup along Concession Road 3, Derby (now Georgian Bluffs).

“Our earth day project takes place every year along this stretch of road, and every time without fail, we gather up discarded furniture, tires, household garbage and countless drink containers,” he said. “This year was no different,” he added. “There was no shortage of junk.”

The Outdoors Adventures club adopted the Concession 3, Derby Road, following the group’s development of the Doug Wardell Walking Trail located on Escarpment Biospher Conservancy lands which abut the concession road. “We were observing lots of waste items in the vicinity of the trail entrance so we decided, let’s keep the entire area clean,“ said Murdoch.

The group then expanded its Earth Day-Week roadside cleanup efforts to include a broader area of road stretching from the Northpark Estates – Stonewyck Park area south to the Keady Road.

Georgian Bluffs road staff also assist the OA by picking up all the gathered waste and recyclables for final disposal. “It’s a joint effort that’s worked out well,” noted Murdoch.

source: media release