List of Sites in 2026

CLEAN UP SITES CONFIRMED FOR THE 2026 OAKVILLE EARTH DAY REVIEW THE COMPLETE LIST OF SITES HERE.

The 35th annual Earth Day Clean Up of Oakville Nature Sites is organized by the:

Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights,
P.O. Box 52007, Oakville, ON L6J 7N5, (905) 849-5501,
info@oakvillepeacecentre.org, www.oakvillepeacecentre.org

ON APRIL 18th, PITCH-IN FOR A CLEAN, GREEN, LITTER-FREE OAKVILLE

“The 35th annual Earth Day Clean Up of Oakville Nature Sites will take place on Saturday,
April 18 from 9 to 11 am at most all nature sites now scheduled for cleaning up,” remarked Stephen Dankowich, co-founder and Executive Director of the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR).

The event takes places rain or shine and unless the weather is really snowy or too inclement. Please consider bringing your own more durable and more comfortable work gloves and a pick-up tool. Wear long pants and long sleeved shirts for protection from ticks.

“Clean Up Site Coordinators will be directing more than a thousand Oakville citizens, students and neighbours who will be pitching-in to beautify Oakville’s nature sites. Before noon and in just a few hours time on April 18th, waste will be removed from our beautiful parks, trails, ravines, woodlots, waterways and lakefront in a concerted community-wide effort to maintain a clean, green, litter-free Oakville,” he exclaimed.

“You will be joining in with people around the world who are celebrating Earth Day. We look forward to receiving confirmation of your participation,” he added.

The Theme for the 35th annual event encourages everyone to “Pitch-in for a clean, green, litter-free Oakville.”

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE EARTH DAY CLEAN UP (in four easy steps …)

You can pitch-in at any of the following listed Clean Up Nature Sites!

There are seven Wards in Oakville. Look for the Clean Up sites in the Ward where you live.

1. Please register right away! Sign-up by e-mail, thank you very much! Send an e-mail to info@oakvillepeacecentre.org to let us know where you will be pitching-in. Please also list the names of all others who may be joining you.

2. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT? Let us know if you are a High School student and at which school you are enrolled. All Halton District School Board (HDSB) students should bring their school’s “Record of Community Involvement Hours” form letter to the event. All Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) students similarly should bring their “Community Involvement Activity” form letter to your site. The Site Coordinator will provide a “Sponsor Signature” to acknowledge your volunteer hours.

3. After registering, your e-mail will be shared with the Site Coordinator so that they will be prepared to welcome you on Saturday, April 26th at their Sign-in Table.

4. You can also contact us by telephone at (905) 849-5501 to confirm your participation in the Earth Day Clean Up or to answer any questions you may have about volunteering at this community-wide Earth Day event.

Oh! And #5. You can also register on the day at any Clean Up site but do arrive for 9 am or the otherwise listed start time! It is never too late to participate in support of Earth Day! See you there!

Please note that we are developing a means for signing-up digitally!

NEW SITES CAN STILL BE SET UP
Please contact us if you would like to become a new Site Coordinator. You can do it! Make sure all of Oakville’s green spaces get cleaned up for Earth Day. “Please pitch-in!”

THE FOLLOWING SITES ARE LOOKING FOR A NEW SITE COORDINATOR!        ~ Trafalgar Park and Oakville Arena (Ward 2).                                                                   ~ Glen Abbey Community Centre grounds (Ward 4). ~ Indian Ridge Trail from Third Line to Fourth Line (Ward 4). ~ Millstone Park (Ward 4) ~ Trails east of Pilgrims Way from Glen Abbey Gate to Potters Wheel Crescent (Ward 4). ~ Buttonbush Woods Park (Ward 7).

HERE IS THE LIST OF THE EARTH DAY CLEAN UP SITES in 2026:

BY WARD, NAME OF SITE COORDINATOR AND WHERE TO MEET

WARD ONE (9 Clean Up Sites)

  • Bronte Bluffs Park: President Harry Shea and the Bronte Village Residents Association (BVRA) meet here every Earth Day to tidy up the western side of Bronte Harbour including Bronte Beach Park and C. Vokes Memorial Park. The motto of the BVRA is that “you cannot expect a community greater than your willingness to contribute to it.”
  • Bronte Creek Provincial Park: From 10 am to Noon, Joanne Wright, Sheila Wiebe and the Friends of Bronte Creek Park welcome you to Ontario’s largest urban park located right here in Oakville! Park pass holders and visitors to the park on the day can meet your clean-up leader in Parking lot C or at the Main Campground lot. Get a membership and enjoy this park all year round!
  • Bronte Harbour: Meet at the corner of East Street and Ontario Street. Lesley McVean rallies the wider neighbourhood to clean up from Fisherman’s Wharf at Bronte Road all the way east to Water’s Edge Park at Third Line and Lakeshore Road West.
  • Bronte Road and QEW Carpool: Peter Vandermyden’s family and a long-time crew invite you to join them as they spruce up this key Bronte Road hub leading into their south Bronte neighbourhoods.
  • Burloak Drive and QEW Green Spaces: Emillie Kraft pitches-in year round in her dedication to combat littering (Meet in the Kelsey’s parking lot).
  • Donovan Bailey Park: Second year Site Coordinator Rishona Vemalapalli welcomes the neighbourhood to pitch-in beginning from this park. Volunteers will also clean up the trails heading south to Lakeshore Road and at the Bronte Athletic Park and Lawson Playground.
  • Lakeshore Woods: Meet at Coffeed in the Great Lakes Centre Plaza located at 3420 Rebecca Street to pick up supplies. Four pick-up spots are being tidied up including Nautical Park, the Creek Path Woods playground, Shell Park and along the Sheldon Creek Trail. Pitch-in with Linda Zylik, Juliet Emberton and Lauren Zylik.
  • Westbrook Park: Mahsa Yazdani leads a Bahai youth group in this constructive and educational environmental activity for a third year. This group cleans up the trails and green spaces between Rebecca Street and Lakeshore Road including Riverview Park and the Bronte Creek Lands.
  • Valleyridge Park and Trails: From 10 am to Noon, pitch-in with Susan Dane and other Halton Outdoor Club members who will be hiking around these extensive beautiful trails in north Bronte while scouring the terrain for waste! Their goal is to be “active and energized together outdoors.” Join this group! Coffee will be available; please bring your own mug!

WARD TWO (10 Clean Up Sites)

  • Aldercrest Park: Meet on Blackthorn Place located behind Loyola Secondary School. Park Ambassador Cathy Buchanan is also the Site Coordinator here and she encourages Loyola Secondary School students and nearby neighbours to pitch-in with her here.
  • Burnet Street Park: Meet at 9:30 am to clean up from Forsythe Street to Lakewood Drive and north-south between Rebecca Street and Lake Ontario including Waterworks Park. This site has been staffed by Lesley Henshaw and the West Harbour Residents Association every year since 2018.
  • Coronation Park: High school students from Blakelock High School, St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School and Appleby College are encouraged to pitch-in here. Site Coordinators Seema and Pradeep Nambiar are representing the Oak Community Canada organization and have created some interesting and fun additional activities for the volunteers including prizes for an on-site Earth Day Quiz and a short essay contest.
  • Glen Oak Creek Trail at Monastery Drive: University student Erik Derakhshan and Dad Ken set-up across from the Monastery Bakery to tidy up the ravine and trails. This site will also be attended to on Thursday, April 9th from 10 am to Noon by members of the American Women’s Club of Southern Ontario who will be returning to this site for a second year under the direction of Sue Kronenfeld, Stephanie Dolan and Debbie Mosher.
  • Hopedale Park: David Weise is taking over from parents Earl and Sharon Weise who have contributed to a more litter-free neighbourhood from set-up at this park every year since 2002.
  • Indian Ridge Trail (Meet at the entrance to the trails on Lindsay Drive): Donna Sheppard and the South Peel Naturalists Club enjoy protecting green spaces like this for birds and other winged things. Bird and nature lovers must join this fabulous local Club!
  • Nottinghill Park: David Kantor and the John Paul II Federation of North American Explorers, a Catholic faith youth group, gather here to also pitch-in along the Taplow Creek Trail and at Glen Abbey Woods.
  • Old Abbey Lane Park: Pitch-in with the Oakville Parent-Child Centre. Parents and their kids will clean up this park, Glen Abbey Trail to Montrose Abbey Drive, Old Abbey Trail to Dorval Drive and the Dorval Trail. Second-year Site Coordinator Kalli MacKeen is a Forest and Nature School Practitioner and the Program Developer for the OPCC and she has created additional educational activities for Clean Up participants to enjoy.
  • West River: Two meeting spots including St. Aidan’s Park on Queen Mary Drive and Hogs Back Park (at the top of the stairs where Queen Mary Drive turns into Shepherd Road). Joe Williams, Nicole Leblanc and the West River Residents Association bring members and the neighbourhood together for their well publicized event. Clean Up’s will take place at Forster Park and Hogs Back Park.
  • Woodhaven Park and Sedgewick Forest: The Ehl Harrison family looks forward to welcoming you to the Clean Up once again this year. All are welcome! Meet at Woodhaven Park for supplies.

WARD THREE (8 Clean Up Sites)

  • Busby Park at Central Library: CharterAbility executive director Stephen Cull and his team welcome you to clean up at the Sixteen Mile Creek. Meet and park under the overhead Randall Street bridge located behind the Central Library; lots of additional parking is available. Look for the Charterability sign! Members of the Halton-Peel Armenian Community Centre will be pitching-in here, too!
  • Clearview Park and entire community: The Clearview Oakville Community Alliance is the local resident’s association and every year since 1999, COCA has does an exceptional job bringing locals together for the Clean Up beginning from this park. COCA President Bob Brabers and Brenda Apel will have a table set-up along Wynten Way with bags and disposable gloves for volunteers to use as they leave Clearview Park to go tidy up their section of this geographically large neighbourhood. And, Tara Asnani will be leading her team of Leo’s Club of Oakville volunteers to attend to the clean up of Wynten Way Park and Jonathan Park.
  • Cornwall Road at Perkins Passage: Gather across from the Humane Society at Perkins Passage to clean up parks and green spaces on both the south and north sides of Cornwall Road from Trafalgar Road to Chartwell Road, Post Park, Maple Valley Park and the Cornwall Road Sports Park. Site Coordinators Nikhil, Joshan and Jayen Chopra are three brothers who care and who look forward to welcoming you here.
  • Dunvegan Park and Ardleigh Park: Residents living on and around Maple Grove Drive can pitch-in with Site Coordinators David Aylward, Dawn Seto and Rick Little and the team from St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church. Maple Grove Public School and Oakville Trafalgar High School students should plug in at the Church or meet the crew at either Dunvegan Park or Ardleigh Park at 9 am.
  • Gairloch Gardens: Pitch-in with President David Bird and members of the Chartwell Maple Grove Residents Association at this historic and elegant green space. Volunteers can also attend to Lawson Park, Colborne Park and Pinewood Park.
  • Lakeside Park, Lakefront, Lighthouse and Museum: Clean Up in downtown Oakville! Meet at the Oakville Museum where Programmer Preeya Nayee welcomes you to collect your bags and disposable gloves from inside this historic building. Please visit afterwards to explore the museum and learn more about Oakville’s past! And in the Museum’s Outdoor Courtyard, check out the information table set up by Bert Jackson and the Lake Ontario Swim Team (LOST), an exciting new group serving the Oakville community.
  • Maple Grove Park and Arena: Members and supporters of the Joshua Creek Residents Association will be leading the clean up of the extensive Joshua Valley Park and its trails, Aspen Forest Park, Joshua Valley Park, Beechnut Forest Park, Deer Run Park and the Southeast Sports Field. In addition, the Elite3 and Team organization will be assisting with the site and providing snacks and refreshments from the set-up table at Maple Grove Park.
  • Wallace Park: Douglas McKirgan and the Trafalgar Chartwell Residents Association bring members and residents together here on Reynolds Street adjacent to the Oakville Curling Club for a wider neighbourhood clean up.

WARD FOUR (15 Clean Up Sites)

  • Arbourview Woods and Trail: Pitch-in with Jennifer Horner and the Oakville Titans Football Club, a local not-for-profit sports group for players aged 19 and under. Go Titans in 2026! We are sure to see some of you in the CFL or the NFL in the future! Meet on Arbourview Drive at the Playground entrance. Parking is available on Arbourview Drive.
  • Bloomfield Park: From here, Stephen and Connie Wei direct a team of volunteers to clean up the trails going northwards to the Pine Glen Soccer Centre. This pitch-in will also attend to the adjacent Nightingale Woods and Oak Haven Pond.
  • Castlebrook Park: Second-year Site Coordinator Sarah Bright invites supportive neighbours to pitch-in beginning from this park along Pine Glen Road. This team also pitches-in along the adjacent McCraney Creek trails and ravines to beautify their beautiful neighbourhood.
  • Glen Abbey Trail: Meet at the Glen Abbey Gate entrance to the Glen Abbey Trail which is situated right across from the Abbey Park Community Centre. Paul and Nicole Panabaker will direct volunteers to clean up the trails all the way south to Abbeywood Drive.
  • Glen Oak Creek Trail North (Meet in the park at Fourth Line and Upper Middle Road across from Loyola Secondary): Denise Severin-Prior and Brett Prior coordinate the clean up here, along the beautiful Taplow Creek trails, at the pond on the east side and the forest at the intersection adjacent to the apartment building southeast of this site.
  • Heritage Way Park: Pitch-in with Site Coordinator Weidong Zhu of the Glen Abbey Neighbourhood Association as well as his daughter and high school student Yiding Liu. Meet at the Merchant Gate Trail entrance on the west side of Merchants Gate just off of Third Line.
  • Langtry Park: Devnand Nambiar is a university student and a member of Ontario Heroes and H2O Canada Youth. He encourages Glen Abbey High School students to join him here for the clean up of Fourteen Mile Creek Lands. This extensive green space has lots of room to roam about while pitching-in.
  • Millstone Park: PENDING A new site coordinator will greet volunteers at the entrance to the parking lot. Other green spaces to clean up include Spring Meadow Pond and all along the East Fourteen Mile Trail which extends south down to Westoak Trails Boulevard.
  • Ravine at Third Line and Upper Middle Road (Next to TD Bank): Site Coordinator Amy Young welcomes you to pitch-in here, west of Bishops Gate. Clean Up volunteers can also pitch-in all around the Glen Abbey Community Centre and the nearby McCraney Creek Trail behind the Abbey Plaza.
  • Sandpiper Road and Pheasant Lane: Kimberly Sziraky and family bring the neighbourhood together to tidy up the trails going south to Upper Middle Road.
  • Saw Whet Park: Second-year Site Coordinator Aimee Gomez was very pleased with last year’s first-time effort and the benefits the neighbourhood accrued by pitching-in.
  • Sixteen Hollow Park: Sharon Brodner welcomes volunteers to sign-in at the Playground. This site will also clean up along nearby Westoak Trails Boulevard trails.
  • Sixteen Mile Creek Trails: Meet in the Rotherglen School parking lot to pitch-in with new Site Coordinator Valerie Ojha who will be enlisting her running club to clean up along the trails.
  • Stratus Parkette: Site Coordinator Raj Patel is sharing the role with daughter Leyla in leading the Clean Up here which will also tidy up the many wider, adjacent, great dog-walking green spaces, too!
  • Westoak Trails Park: PENDING High school student Ailyn Dulgar-Tulloch and Mom Lisa will welcome you at the splashpad for the area clean up including at Grand Oak Park and Brockberry Woods Park.
  • Woodgate Woods: In this environmentally diverse neighbourhood, Voula Caffrey and family engage the community to pitch-in at this park and along McCraney Creek trails.

WARD FIVE (7 Clean Up Sites)

  • Castlefield Park: PENDING Please meet Site Coordinator Joni Babulal near the bus stop at River Oaks Boulevard and Oak Springs Road to grab your supplies for cleaning up this park. We will also clean up the nearby Vineland Woods Park and Oak Springs Trails.
  • Harman Gate Park: Meet in the parking lot off River Glen Boulevard to pitch-in with Laura Shaw and family. Volunteers also will pick up waste along the trails of the Munns Creek Trail extending south to the River Oaks Recreation Centre.
  • Martindale Park: PENDING. Pitch-in from 8:30 to 10 am with Bruno Sousa and members and supporters of the Green Party who will gather here in a tribute and contribution to environmentalism. Bruno was the 2025 MPP Candidate for Oakville in the recent provincial election.
  • Memorial Park: Meet at the Playground along Oak Park Boulevard at Hays Boulevard to pitch-in with Councillor Jeff Knoll and the Film.ca crew. Volunteers will also be cleaning up the trails east of Sixth Line and south to River Oaks Boulevard East. P.S. Thanks again for the popcorn coupons, Film.ca!
  • Munns Creek Park and Margot Street Park: Meet on Munns Street just down from River Oaks Public School for the clean up of green spaces in this neighbourhood. The Site Coordinator is David Stefan who is also a Parks Ambassador for this community.
  • Neyagawa Park: Joanna Hamara of the Birds Nest Centre and son Jeremy lead the clean up of the park and surrounding green spaces.
  • Oakville Park: PENDING. Meet at the park entrance on Sixth Line just south of Upper Middle Road.
  • Oxford Park: PENDING. This site is seeking a new Site Coordinator.
  • Pelee Woods Park: Meet here to also clean up going south along Nipigon Trail from River Oaks Boulevard to Upper Middle Road with Site Coordinator Simon Mak.
  • Shannon Creek Trail: Meet at the Parkette on Marlatt Drive to pitch-in along the Trail. Geoff and Mary Hospital have diligently staffed this site every year since 2011.
  • Sheridan College/Treetop Estates: Stephane Dagenais and other residents living at Treetop Estates will meet on the west side of Marlborough Court. Sheridan College students and other neighbours also are encouraged to pitch-in at this site.

WARD SIX (7 Clean Up Sites)

  • Algrove Park: Regional and Town Councillor Tom Adams has welcomed residents to pitch-in with him here and also along Morrison Valley South trails extending south past Oakville Town Hall every year since 2002.
  • Bayshire Woods Park: Realtor Paul Butler has organized an extensive clean up of this section of north-east Oakville every year beginning in 2013.
  • Glenashton Drive Bridge and Ravines: Leena Bukhari and family look forward to the neighbourhood’s participation this spring. Pitch-in to clean up the trails and ravines extending south to Upper Middle Road and north to Postridge Road and then all the way to this trail’s end at Trafalgar Road just south of Dundas Street. Iroquois Ridge High School students are needed to pitch-in here.
  • Glenashton Park, Nena Woods Park and Iroquois Ridge Community Centre: Meet at the IRCC to pitch-in with Jinxing Wang and the Oakville Chinese Senior 99 Association. Pitch-in to clean up the IRCC grounds as well as Glenashton Park and Nena Woods Park located off of Woodington Lane.
  • Iroquois Shoreline Woods: Meet in the parking lot off of Joshua’s Creek Drive. Site Coordinator Tracy Zhou welcomes you to this special place in Oakville. Did you know that Lake Ontario once upon a glacial time reached all the way up to where Upper Middle Road is today?
  • Lyndhurst Park: The Elite3 and Team real estate company look forward to pitching-in here and along the East Joshua Creek Trail and Joshua Creek Trail. Join Helen, Sabrina, Grace, Eric and other team members who since 2019 have participated in the annual Earth Day Clean Up.
  • Valleybrook Park/Sheridan Valley Park: Park along Valleybrook Drive and meet at the Playground Gazebo to sign-in and receive your bags and gloves. We will cover a large area from here! Crossing the road from this site, volunteers also will clean up parks and trails surrounding Sheridan Valley Park south of Upper Middle Road to Falgarwood Drive. Site Coordinator Pauline Gyorkos and family have maintained this site every year since 2018 and this year she will be joined by Karla Cabrera who will be leading a team of Rotary Club of Oakville members in pitching-in.

WARD SEVEN (8 Clean Up Sites)

  • Fowley Park: Join Ajaypal Rosha, the Site Coordinator who got things moving for the Clean Up in Ward Seven beginning in 2018, as this team will also be cleaning up the East Morrison Creek Trail between Threshing Mill Boulevard, past Wheat Boom Drive to Dundas Street and the Postville Pond. Ajaypal set-up this new site in 2023 for this expanding neighbourhood.
  • George Savage Park: President Ron Chhinzer of the North Oakville Ward Seven Resident Association and Ward Seven Councillors Nav Nanda and Scott Xie look forward to meeting you here. We will also pitch-in at Charles Fay Pond on North Park Boulevard and go south cleaning up the Munns Creek Trail to Preserve Pond and George Savage Pond at Dundas Street.
  • Gladeside Pond: Meet here at the pond across from Fortinos to also pitch-in at Neyagawa Woods Park and along the Shannon Creek North Trail with Site Coordinators Serguei and Natalia Doubov.
  • Isaac Park and green space north of Dundas Street: Mamta Rosha welcomes you at the Gazebo for the community Clean Up.
  • Lions Valley Park: Beginning at 10 am, Husnain Zakaria and the Islamic Centre of North America (Oakville Chapter) tidy up this jewel of a green space and a great place to enjoy a picnic! Meet in the parking lot.
  • Palermo Park: Arpit Mittal, Oakville representative for the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, encourages your participation at this sports park located just west of the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital on Dundas Street West.
  • Preserve Woods Park: CLEAN UP AND TREE PLANTING. From 10 am to 1 pm, pitch-in and dig-in with Oakvillegreen by meeting at the intersection of Sawmill Street and Preserve Drive. Participants will be encouraged to both “Clean Up” and “Plant a Tree” at this Park. Please become a member of this fantastic local environmental group that just celebrated its 25th anniversary last year! Let’s do more for the environment! Executive Director Anelia Tichkova and Programs Manager Mukhnaam Chattha will greet you here.
  • William Rose Park: Sehaj Rosha became a new Site Coordinator for this site in 2023; Sehaj is a university student who encourages Ward Seven students to join him here.

WINNING THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST LITTERING: BUILDING ON A VERY SUCCESSFUL CLEAN UP IN 2025

Site Coordinators at last year’s 34th annual Earth Day Clean Up of Oakville Nature Sites reported that our beautiful parks, trails, ravines, woodlots and lakefront were much cleaner compared to previous years.

There was a substantial reduction in the total weight of garbage collected and fewer large pieces of trash removed from Oakville green spaces at the annual Clean Up.

The community is increasingly adopting a no-litter policy with many different constituencies contributing to the visibly noticeable successes made by these collective efforts.

Site Coordinators with the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights, students and schools, local government, Parks Ambassadors, Town Parks and Open Space Department staff, dog walkers and trail walkers disgusted by strewn garbage, civic minded citizens and many others are now ALL TOGETHER contributing to raising awareness about the benefits of non-littering and are maintaining the cleanliness of Oakville’s green spaces.

This is how the Oakville community is now winning the campaign against littering.

SAFETY IS THE #1 ISSUE AT THE ANNUAL EARTH DAY CLEAN UP

Safety is the #1 issue at the annual Earth Day Clean Up. Be extremely careful when picking up dangerous items like broken glass, discarded needles, used masks or jagged metal pieces. Do not lift or carry heavy or bulky items by yourself. Please do not clean up along the side of roads or around parked cars. Please use hand sanitizer that is provided after you have completed your volunteering.

We welcome all suggestions for ensuring a successful Clean Up of Oakville’s beautiful parks, ravines, trails, wood lots and lakefronts this spring. 

Garbage bags and disposable gloves in various sizes will be available at each site. You are encouraged to bring your own sturdier cloth or leather work gloves, reaching sticks and other pick-up tools. People will be asked to sign-in voluntarily for the purpose of assisting future organizing. Be aware of the need to protect yourself from ticks at the Clean Up.

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EARN VOLUNTEER HOURS FOR PITCHING-IN

High school students earn three volunteer hours when pitching-in with the Clean Up.

All Halton District School Board (HDSB) students should bring their school’s “Record of Community Involvement Hours” form letter to the event. All Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) students similarly should bring their “Community Involvement Activity” form letter to your site.

The Site Coordinator will provide a “Sponsor Signature” to acknowledge your volunteer hours. Come as a team of friends!

SITE COORDINATORS WILL GREET YOU WITH BAGS, GLOVES AND A SMILE!

So many sites are now confirmed for this year’s Clean Up! This builds on recent momentum! Way to pitch-in, Oakville!

At each Clean Up site, volunteers will be greeted by Site Coordinators who will have bags, disposable gloves in “extra-large” and “large” sizes and hand sanitizer that have been provided by the Town’s Parks and Open Space Department, thank you very much.

Site Coordinators are the backbone of this environmental event which began in 1992 when thirty OCCPEHR volunteers pitched-in at just one site along the Twelve Mile Creek under the overpass bridge at Bronte Road and the QEW and removed a mountain of garbage. Thank you, Site Coordinators!

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 and a half decades. It is wonderful that we are making a BIG difference for our local natural environment!

“Site Coordinators have stepped forward to serve their neighbourhood community 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,” enthused campaign coordinator Stephen Dankowich.

THIS CLEAN UP CAMPAIGN HAS FIVE GOALS TO ACCOMPLISH

Our Five Goals are to:
1. Promote awareness and respect for nature and Oakville’s many waterways.
2. Beautify local neighbourhoods.
3. Build community through environmental activism.
4. Protect wildlife.
5. Increase awareness of the need to protect biodiversity in Oakville.

THE COMMUNITY RALLIES TO SPONSOR THIS EVENT

This community-wide environmental event is sponsored primarily by the Town of Oakville’s Parks and Open Space Department, Halton Region Waste Management, Film.ca Cinemas, several local businesses, many Resident Associations, faith organizations, and other not-for-profit community groups.

ALL VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE A COUPON FOR A FREE SMALL BOX OF POPCORN

All volunteers will receive a Coupon for a free small box of popcorn to enjoy compliments of Film.ca Cinemas at their movie theatre located on Speers Road between Kerr Street and Dorval Drive. Please support this community-based theatre year-round and enjoy the magic of movies!

THE EVENT PROCEEDS RAIN OR SHINE

“We thank everyone for their past and continuing involvement in Oakville’s annual Earth Day Clean Up and encourage new residents to join in this spring.”

“Please contact the organizers at (905) 849-5501 and/or info@oakvillepeacecentre.org for more information, to get involved or to organize your own new Clean Up site. Strive to make every day an Earth Day,” concluded Stephen Dankowich, the Event Coordinator who has been organizing this event with his youngest brother Paul Dankowich for all these many years. “It’s been and remains a real joy to organize this campaign. The results accomplished by the broader Oakville community makes this campaign the joy it is to organize. Oakville really pitches-in for the environment. Thank you for keeping the Clean Up campaign going and growing,” they said.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE ORGANIZERS BY VOLUNTEERING AND DONATING

This event is organized by the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights. We are an incorporated, HST registered, not-for-profit social movement organization founded in 1992. Oakville residents, students and seniors who want to participate in organizing campaigns in promotion of peace, ecology and human rights should contact us right away!

The Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR) began as a chapter of the ACT for Disarmament Coalition (formerly Against Cruise Testing, ACT) in 1987.

SOME OF OUR PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE:

~ We maintained the independent, non-partisan storefront Oakville Peace Centre at 148 Kerr Street and Rebecca Street for fifteen years between 1992 and 2007.

~ OCCPEHR organized the Halton Eco Festival from 2001 to 2017, an environmental fair held at the Glen Abbey Community Centre.

~We were the original founders of the Halton Environmental Network (HEN), 2003 to 2007.

~ We promoted the Oakville Carolinian Canada Awareness Project in the early 2000’s.

~ We headquartered the International Campaign for the Innu and the Earth (ICIE) at our Peace Centre in the successful campaign to stop NATO’s low level military flight training in Labrador and Quebec.

~ As well, we headquartered the Canadian Campaign To Free Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli whistle blower who in 1986 revealed Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons built at an underground facility in the Negev desert where he worked as a junior technician.

~ We are members of the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the Nobel Peace Prize winning organization.  

~ We helped organize the annual Oakville Peace Festival from 1987 to 2010.

~ All in all, we have organized over 200 community events in support and promotion of peace, ecology and human rights.

Please note that we are currently seeking new Board Members to pitch-in and help us to organize community events now and into the future. How about you? Please step up. We look forward to receiving notice of your interest. Peace, ecology and human rights needs your ideas and energy.

Memberships are $20 for individuals and students, $100 for supportive organizations. Your support will help us to accomplish more, thank you very much.

Thank you very much for pitching-in and supporting Earth Day!

How can I prevent tick bites?

There are several steps you can take to prevent tick bites:

  • If possible, avoid known tick environments (such as wooded, brushy or tall grass areas) and stay on trails when outdoors.
  • Cover up by wearing long sleeved, light coloured shirts and pants with tightly woven fabric.
  • Tuck your shirt into your pants and your pant legs into your socks to keep ticks away from your bare skin.
  • Wear shoes that cover your entire foot, avoiding sandals or open shoes.
  • Spray clothing and exposed skin with an insect repellent containing DEET or Icaridin.
  • Check your clothing and body for any ticks, especially around the groin, armpits and hairline after spending time outdoors. 
  • After outdoor activity, put clothes in a dryer on high heat for at least 10 minutes to kill any ticks.
  • Shower or bathe within two hours or being outdoors to wash away loose ticks.
  • Check your pets regularly for ticks as they could carry them inside your home.

If I find a tick on myself or someone else, what should I do?

  • If you find a tick on your body, remove it as soon as possible, as you may be at risk of developing a tick-borne disease. The risk of getting a tick-borne disease varies with the length of time the tick remains attached.
  • Talk to your health care provider or ask your pharmacist about medication for tick exposure.

How to remove a tick

  • Use fine-tip tweezers to grasp the tick’s head and mouth parts as close to your skin as possible.
  • Slowly pull straight out until the tick is removed.
  • Be careful not to twist or crush the tick during removal.
  • If this occurs, the risk of infection is not increased.
  • Keeping the tick intact will help in the identification of the tick.
  • Store the tick in a sealed dry container. Do not squish the tick.
  • After removing the tick, use soap and water to wash the area of the bite.
tick being removed by grasping it's head with tweezers and lifting

Watch: How to properly remove a tick (YouTube link)

What are the most common tick species found in Halton?

  • In Halton, the most common ticks found are American dog ticks and deer ticks (also known as blacklegged ticks).
  • In Ontario, the only ticks known to carry Lyme disease are blacklegged ticks. Blacklegged ticks can transmit other diseases such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus infection, however the risk of contracting these diseases remains low in Halton Region.