Many took to the streets, parks and trails on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, blessed with glorious sunshine, picking up garbage and some even finding treasures.
Trish Parker, with inmates from the Drumheller Institution Inside Out program, found a $10 bill at the very beginning of her day, while clearing out garbage on Badlands trails by the Tyrrell, while Michelle Olson found a treasure box, part of a worldwide game called Geocaching.
Judging by the amount of volunteers who took part in the Earth Day Drumheller Valley Trash Challenge and the garbage each brought to the Heartwood Inn & Spa on Earth Day, Drumheller residents were happy to take up the challenge to clear the town of garbage.
The Earth Day clean-up this year was a collaborative effort between businesses, launched by The Royal Tyrrell Museum and sponsored by the museum, EnCana, The Drumheller Dragons, Barcomp, Communities In Bloom, Century 21, the Drumheller Institution Inside Out program, the Heartwood Inn & Spa, Canalta, L.P.R Concrete, and the Town of Drumheller.
“It was an excellent day, we had lots of people helping us out and more local businesses than expected wanting to take part,” said Mike Dooley, from the Tyrrell Museum, who organized the challenge.
Thanks to the efforts of all the volunteers who took part, Drumheller is now rid of a whole dumpster full of garbage, collected during just one day.
Aside from the usual garbage found, many complained about areas littered with cigarette butts.
Mike Dooley said, as well as abandoned tires found in the museum overflow parking lot, cigarette butts were a big problem.
Heather Bitz was picking up rubbish on Earth Day morning around the Rotary Spray Park ground and told The Mail cigarette butts were the biggest problem there.
Another resident reported the same around the benches near the Public Library which was littered with butts even though an ashtray was located near the benches.
As well as getting the reward of knowing they made a difference in their community, Earth Day clean-up volunteers were treated to pop, beef filled buns and Luigi Vescarelli’s classic Caesar salad, all courtesy of Encana, at the wrap up BBQ hosted by the Heartwood Inn, who had also set up their new dinosaurs crazy golf for the younger Earth Day clean-up volunteers to have fun with.