Coronation Park – Ward 2
Kerr Street North Ward #2
Dunvegan Park – Ward #3
Castlebrook Park – Ward 4
Langtry Park – Ward 4
Bayshire Woods Park – Ward 6
Coronation Park – Ward 2
Kerr Street North Ward #2
Dunvegan Park – Ward #3
Castlebrook Park – Ward 4
Langtry Park – Ward 4
Bayshire Woods Park – Ward 6
The 32nd annual Earth Day Clean Up of Oakville Nature Sites
on Saturday, April 22, 2023 is organized by the:
Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR),
P.O. Box 52007, Oakville, ON L6J 7N5
(905) 849-5501, info@oakvillepeacecentre.org, oakvillepeacecentre.org
FOR A CLEAN, GREEN, LITTER-FREE OAKVILLE ON SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023, 9 AM
“The 32nd annual Earth Day Clean Up of Oakville Nature Sites will take place on Saturday, April 22 beginning at 9 am sharp at seventy nature sites which is an all-time record,” remarked Stephen Dankowich, co-Founder and Executive Director of the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR).
“April 22 is also the actual Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970. Join in with millions of people around the world who will be doing something positive for the protection of the natural environment and all living things on Earth Day by pitching-in at the annual Oakville Clean Up,” he added.
The Theme for the 32nd annual event is that we are “For a clean, green, litter-free Oakville.”
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE EARTH DAY CLEAN UP
Residents and students are encouraged to pitch-in at any of the listed Clean Up Nature Sites!
We encourage everyone to register early on, thank you very much!
Send a quick e-mail to info@oakvillepeacecentre.org to let us know which site you will be pitching-in at.
Also, please let us know how many other people might be with you in your e-mail and if you or others are high school students who will receive a Form Letter acknowledging your volunteer hours that morning or afternoon.
We will then contact the site coordinator at that location to let them know of your interest in pitching-in at their site and to be ready to welcome you on Saturday, April 22nd at their sign-in table.
You are welcome to also contact us by telephone at (905) 849-5501 to confirm your participation in the Earth Day Clean Up or to answer any queries you may have about volunteering at this community-wide environmental Earth Day event.
You can also register on the day at the site. See you there!
LIST OF 70 CLEAN UP LOCATIONS BY WARD AND COORDINATOR
WARD ONE (8 Sites)
WARD TWO (14 Sites)
WARD THREE (8 Sites)
WARD FOUR (16 Sites)
WARD FIVE (7 Sites)
WARD SIX (8 Sites)
WARD SEVEN (9 Sites)
NEW SITES CAN STILL BE SET UP
“Please contact us if anyone would like to become a new coordinator. There are a few more beautiful nature sites that could be cleaned up for Earth Day this spring with your assistance,” said Mr. Dankowich.
NEW! THREE AFTERNOON SITES FROM 2 PM TO 4 PM ON SATURDAY, APRIL 22
Not everyone can attend the morning Clean Up and a lot of high school students prefer to sleep in on Saturday mornings so we are very pleased to announce that for the first time in thirty-two years there will be three afternoon sites that residents can pitch-in at, including:
1. KERR STREET & NORTH SERVICE ROAD WEST:
We will again be cleaning up the green spaces from the bend at Kerr Street North and the North Service Road all the way west to Dorval Drive. This is a Ward Two site first set up last spring very successfully. Meet at the plaza entrance near the Il Fornello restaurant across from the Winner’s plaza.
2. VALLEYBROOK PARK ON UPPER MIDDLE ROAD, EAST OF EIGHTH LINE:
Clean up along Upper Middle Road from east of Trafalgar Road to Ford Drive and also the Sheridan Valley Trails south of Upper Middle Road. This is a Ward Six site.
3. OAKVILLE MUSEUM ON NAVY STREET DOWNTOWN AT LAKE ONTARIO:
Tidy up adjacent Lakeside Park and lakefront on the east side of the Sixteen Mile Creek here in Ward Three. Visit the museum and check out the lighthouse and boardwalk!
Hey, hey! Volunteers at Kerr Street North and Valleybrook Park will enjoy a pizza party thanks to Panago Pizza on Cornwall Road who wants you to keep your energy up while volunteering!
BUILDING ON OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL CLEAN UP EVER IN 2022
“Last year, there was a record number of nature sites cleaned up by a record number of volunteers who removed a record amount of garbage.
1,200 volunteers at sixty-one sites pitched-in to haul away 7.1 metric tonnes of garbage and .86 metric tonnes of metal trucked away by Miller Waste Systems that afternoon. The total weight of all items was 17,650 lbs.
We welcome any suggestions for ensuring a successful Clean Up of Oakville’s beautiful parks, ravines, trails, wood lots and lakefronts this spring,” Mr. Dankowich added.
“Safety is the #1 issue at the annual Earth Day Clean Up. This community-wide event is an activity that can be attended in a relatively safe and healthy manner. The Clean Up is an open-air event taking place in wide open spaces which conveniently allows for ease in social distancing for those still concerned about the hopefully fast receding covid pandemic.
Garbage bags and disposable gloves will be available on site. You are encouraged to bring your own cloth or leather work gloves and pick-up tools. People will be asked to sign-in for the purpose of assisting future organizing and for a draw to win a bike helmet donated by Cyclepath on Speers Road. Hand sanitizer also will be available,” said the event coordinator.
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO RECEIVE FORM LETTER FOR TIME VOLUNTEERING
“High school students can earn two to three volunteer hours by pitching in, too. Coordinators will have a form letter to give students upon completion of their assignment on Saturday, April 22nd which you will take to your Guidance Department or Principal on Monday after the event. Bring your own form letter if your school issues them. Come as a team of friends,” he noted.
COORDINATORS WILL GREET YOU AT EACH LOCATION WITH BAGS AND GLOVES
“Seventy sites are confirmed for this year’s Clean Up! This is a new, all-time record number of sites! Way to pitch-in, Oakville!
At each Clean Up site, volunteers will be greeted by Site Coordinators who will have bags, disposable gloves, and hand sanitizer for you to use that have been provided by the Town’s Parks and Open Space Department as well as smaller biodegradable bags supplied by Pitch-In Canada that are great for kids to use at the event.
Site Coordinators are the real backbone of this environmental event which began modestly in 1992 with thirty volunteers at just one site along the Twelve Mile Creek at Bronte Road and the QEW. 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 plus decades. We are making a BIG difference for our local natural environment!
Site Coordinators have stepped forward to serve their neighbourhood 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 Mr. Dankowich.
THIS CAMPAIGN HAS FIVE GOALS
“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 and (5) increase awareness of the need to protect biodiversity in Oakville,” remarked the Executive Director of OCCPEHR.
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 as well as many local businesses, eight resident associations, faith groups and community organizations.”
FREE SMALL POPCORN COUPON FROM FILM.CA FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS
All volunteers will receive a Coupon for a free small box of popcorn to enjoy compliments of Film.ca Cinemas valid when attending a movie showing at their movie theatre located on Speers Road between Kerr Street and Dorval Drive. The Coupon will be attached to a thank you letter from the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights and distributed to all volunteers by all site coordinators on April 22nd.
THE EVENT PROCEEDS RAIN OR SHINE
“The earth and all living things need our care. 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,” he added.
“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. Try to make every day an Earth Day,” concluded Mr. Dankowich.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE ORGANIZERS BY VOLUNTEERING AND DONATING
This event is organized by the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights, an incorporated, HST registered, not-for-profit social movement organization founded in 1992. Memberships are $20 for individuals and students; donate what you can to support community activism. Thank you very much in advance for volunteering and donating!
Safety is our #1 concern at the Clean Up:
* Always have safety on your mind when doing the clean up.
* Garbage bags and work gloves are provided.
* Be extremely careful when picking up dangerous items like
broken glass, discarded needles or jagged metal pieces.
* Do not carry heavy or bulky items by yourself.
* Do not clean up along the sides of roads or around parked cars.
* Place all collected garbage in a pile by the curb at your site.
* New garbage collection sites can be set-up today if a lot of garbage is found in some area away from the sign-in area for this location. Leave it there by the curb and notify the coordinator of it so that the garbage truck can be directed to pick it up this afternoon.
* Try to work as a team or in pairs to assist each other as required.
* Pick-up sticks are available for use by seniors and others; please note however that they are not that sturdy and should not be used to try and pick up heavier items. They are good for reaching into bushes with brambles and retrieving plastic bags caught in a tree.
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
MAKE EVERY DAY AN EARTH DAY.
YOUR PARTICIPATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!