03 Nov Community Comes Together to Clean the Lake they Love
I had the chance to attend my first ever garbage cleanup with Friends of Kootenay Lake on Saturday, October 30th. Not only was I amazed by the different items pulled from the lakebed and off the shoreline, but the number of volunteers who showed up with their eagerness to clean up the lake they love.
Over a dozen volunteers came out to the cleanup, their sleeves rolled up and gloves on ready to jump in where ever they were needed. Many of them took to the shoreline to fill up their buckets and others hopped on the boats to support the four volunteer divers as they retrieved trash from the bottom. Throughout the two hours, volunteers found a shopping cart, several bikes, and a hobby horse from the lakebed, assorted plastic and lots of scrap metal from the shoreline.
Over the last month working for FOKLSS, I’ve read and seen lots of photos of past cleanups that we have hosted throughout the year. But seeing one take place in person is a whole other experience. Seeing individuals of all ages come together for this event was incredibly inspiring and introduced me to the eagerness that the Kootenay community has to steward the lake.
“We couldn’t do this work without our volunteers and sponsors. Thanks to your support, our projects and programs are able to move forward, making a huge impact on the lake, the species who live here, and encouraging a clean and prosperous lake for future generations.”
We would like to say a big thank you to the Kootenay Lake Sailing Association, the West Kootenay Boating Association , and the Kootenay Pedalwheelers for providing us with their time, boats, and divers for this event. Also a huge thank you to all the volunteers who helped out with this event.
Written by Joelle Burnie, Environmental Outreach Coordinator
Read more about the cleanup in the Nelson Star here.
Thank you to our sponsors:
Thanks to the following businesses for providing coffee, snacks, and pizza for the event:
