Weather hampers clean-up day

Harriet Madigan was hoping for a big turn-out Sunday for Community Clean-up Day.

But wet snowy weather and cool temperatures kept potential litter picker-uppers away, and only small groups of people showed up at three North Bay locations.

Still some garbage was picked up, Madigan said, with the promise of more being collected in the future.

“What we’re doing now is giving a t-shirt and a pair of gloves and a bag to everyone and saying when the weather’s better and they see some litter somewhere just go out and
pick it up, and fill the bag with garbage,” said Madigan, a member of North Bay’s Communities in Bloom committee.

“We’re going to do the best we can today since Mother Nature not cooperating today, maybe it’s her revenge for all the litter we have in our community.”

Take some responsibility
Madigan said the call for people to come out to the Tim Horton’s-sponsored event might not have been necessary “if people didn’t litter in the first place.”

“We make an impact one way or another on the community we live in and we all have to take some responsibility,” Madigan said.

“The best message is don’t litter in the first place, pick up after yourself and make this the most beautiful community in Canada.”

Heightened awareness
The litter situation, Madigan said, has undergone a “huge improvement” since North Bay’s involvement last year in the Communities in Bloom competition.

“There still are some bad sites, but in general we’d say there’s a heightened awareness and people are being more conscientious about litter, but we still have a long way to go,” Madigan said.

“It’s hard to believe we got 92 per cent in tidiness effort last year, and the judges actually put in their evaluation that we were virtually litter-free for two days. I think we’re a great enough community that we could do this 365 days a year. I really do believe that, and I sure hope I don’t depart the world before that actually happens.”

Stewardship approach
It all comes down to adopting a stewardship approach to the environment,” Madigan said.

“We all have a role to play in what’s happening now and in the future for our children and our children’s children, and what are we teaching them when we litter all over the place?”