The snow is long gone, but not all spring cleanups have been completed. It’s your turn soon, East Ferris, and May 10th is the day you’ve been waiting for. To help things along, the municipality is offering free garbage bags at the municipal office, which are available until May 10th.
Each year, community residents really turn out to help, and “we’ve been delighted by the involvement of the citizens of East Ferris,” Mayor Pauline Rochefort said. This is the third year for the cleanup, she added, “and the participation has been impressive.”
East Ferris’ cleanup coincides with the Provincial Day of Action on Litter, which is “celebrated” on the second Tuesday of May, the province explains on their website. Besides beautifying the natural and built environments, Action on Litter brings “awareness to the impacts of waste” on one’s community and reminds people “to help keep our environment clean and healthy for generations to come.”
Inspiring indeed, so much so that Mayor Rochefort suspects residents won’t only contribute for the day, she anticipates people might continue abolishing litter for the entire week. It’s Amnesty Day at the landfill on May 14th, so it’s not a stretch that people might pick up some trash from the 10th onward and drop off their haul for free at the dump on Bertha Road in Corbeil.
Participants are encouraged to submit photos to the municipality of their cleaning efforts for a chance to win some prizes. Photos must be submitted by 7 p.m. on the 10th, and those can be sent to [email protected].
What can you win? The prizes are gardening themed, so in past year there were a few plastic rakes and shovels for the kids and some gardening gloves for adults, the mayor explained. This year’s prizes may be similar but have yet to be purchased, so the possibilities remain wide open.
Roadways, parking lots, and civic parks could all use a little care these days, and people are encouraged to help pitch in. Once you’ve picked your fill, bring the garbage bag home, and bring it to the dump on Amnesty Day, the mayor encourages.
“There’s pride in keeping your community clean,” she said, “and I think that’s why we get such involvement, because people are proud of this community.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
