Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group Seeking Volunteers To Help Clean Up Armour Hill

The Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group is looking for volunteers to help clean up a winter of garbage buildup at Ashburnham Memorial Park (Armour Hill) on April 15.

photo courtesy of the Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group.

“Your efforts at the last clean-ups have made a big difference to the health, safety and beauty of the park and we really cherish your kindness in doing so,” said the Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group in a press release. “Your contribution to these events is very helpful in moving towards positive changes for Ashburnham Memorial Park, and these efforts demonstrate that the community cares about this Heritage Park.”

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, participants will meet at Rube Brady Park at the basketball court at the bottom of the toboggan hill (corner of Armour Road and Munroe Ave) rain or shine.

The group advises participants to dress for the weather, and to expect mud throughout the park (rain boots are strongly recommended.) Bring a reusable coffee mug, water bottle, work gloves (optional) and garbage grabbers (optional). and appropriate attire for the weather. Supplies are provided.

For more information visit the website.

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Local Youngster Is On A Mission To Keep His Neighborhood Clean And Hopes Others Will Do The Same

Logan, a local grade two student, has taken it upon himself to clean up the litter in the small part of Peterborough he calls home. He and his mom hope that others may follow suit and clean up their own neighborhood.

“He’s a lover of nature,” said Jennifer, Logans mom. “He always asks me why people throw garbage on the ground. I try to explain to him that some people aren’t very respectful but also that sometimes it just blows out of peoples bins and ends up where it’s not supposed to be.”

Jennifer says he had been asking for a trash picker for a long time, and when she finally bought him one he put it to good use.

The two walked around their local neighborhood and collected a full bag of litter.

“We talked about the safety of it, and making sure we are wearing gloves and being safe about it. Then we went shopping and got his supplies, and off we went to clean up. He was loving it, he told me he could do this all day.”

Part of the reason Logan wanted to clean up is so that litter and recycling didn’t get caught in the beaks and mouths of animals, causing them to be unable to eat.

Jennifer says that Logan has often said it should be everyone’s job to keep the city clean, not just the people that get paid to do it. They plan to do it again as the weather gets warmer.

“We’re all so busy with our kids and putting them in sports and stuff like that, but maybe we should keep them busy with being good people, and doing things for their community. If you’re going to change the world you have to start somewhere.”

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Local Woman is Cleaning the City While Giving Back With Butt 1 Community

Donna Reid from Peterborough has been collecting cigarette waste for the last three years, and recycling it through Terracycles Unsmoke Cigarette Recycling Program.

Photo courtesy of Butt 1 Community.

Three years ago Reid participated in a community clean up with A Greener Future, an environmental nonprofit focused on litter cleanup and prevention, where she learned that cigarette butts could be recyclable.

“I just thought it would kind of be a no brainer, and I’d get people involved in the community - that’s why I called it ‘Butt 1 Community’, we’re all one.”

For the last three years Reid has been collecting butts, the ash from cigarettes and the cellophane that cigarettes come wrapped in. The carboard case can be put in the regular recycling.

She also invites community members to drop off waste they have collected at her house, and notes that she sometimes comes home to bags of cigarette butts on her porch, a welcomed surprise for her.

“I have sent just over 400 lbs of waste since 2018,” she says.

Reid ships her collection of cigarette waste to TerraCycle once a year. The program gifts her one dollar per one lbs of waste she collects, to donate to a local charity. This year she will donate the funds to Peterborough Streetvoice.

On Sunday Reid announced on social media that she submitted 147 lbs of waste this year.

“I’m getting more awareness out there so I’m hoping each year it grows a bit. The biggest thing is that people don’t understand that cigarette butts are actually waste. They’re the number one thrown out item in the entire world. Number one every time.”

In addition to raising awareness, Reid distributes ‘pocket ashtrays’ to people she sees smoking in public. A pocket ashtray is a small reusable container that suffocates a cigarette ember, contains the smell and allows the user to bring their butt home to throw out, rather than littering.

For more information on Butt 1 Community or to find out how to get involved visit their Facebook or Instagram.

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Fleming College Gives Back To Community, Cleans Up Shoreline At Del Crary Park

Fleming College teamed up with World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF) to host the 2nd Annual Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up at Del Crary Park on Saturday, October 13th.

Together with more than 50 volunteers including Fleming students, staff and members of the community, the initiative made the following impact…

-> Cleaned up over 108 kg of trash, an increase of 194% from 2017
-> Picked up 3,502 cigarette butts
-> Picked up 376 pieces of small plastic
-> Cleaned up 1.2 km of shoreline

Photo of shorelne cleanup courtesy Fleming College

The Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up is a national conservation program that provides Canadians the opportunity to take action in their communities wherever water meets land, one bit of trash at a time.

The Shoreline Cleanup is now recognized as one of the largest direct action conservation programs in Canada, and it is great Fleming College is participating in this initiative.

Pollution is a growing concern—especially when it collects in our local parks where it can directly affect wildlife populations. According to WWF, Canada’s Living Planet Report, pollution including plastic waste and micro plastics are one of six leading causes to wildlife decline.

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