3rd Annual Middle Shuswap River Clean-Up Day Report
It can be easy to take our lakes and rivers for granted when we turn on the taps or switch on a light. Taking part in a clean-up initiative using a non-motorized vessel, such as a canoe, can bring you back in touch with how special it is to have these clean and quiet waters in our ‘backyard’.
Seventeen enthusiastic folks turned out for the October 3rd Middle Shuswap River Clean-Up and Paddle day, from the popular “Meadows” campsite in Cherryville, all the way to the Wilsey Hydroelectric Dam on Mabel Lake Road – a distance of approximately 18 km. Paddlers and non-paddlers alike attended, from age 2 to 65. Thank you to all who took time out of their weekend to give thanks to a beautiful local river and ‘put it to bed’ for the winter.
Some quick stats to paint a picture of the day:
- Number of participants: 17
- Number of canoes: 5
- Number of participants under 3 years old: 2
- Number of full XXL garbage bags of trash collected: 7
- Number of punctured inflatable rafts hauled out of log-jams: 7
- Number of beer cans found: only 4 this year!! – and 2 were unopened.
- Number of times the ‘front-ferry’ manoeuvre was used to recover a piece of trash: 9
- Number of abandoned lawn-chairs hauled out of the river: 1
- Number of lawn-chairs next spring’s flood will likely collect from below the high-water line: 9
- Number edible species of wild mushrooms hanging from logs at the water’s edge: 2
- Number of mergansers darting across the water: 6
- Number of participants that went for an unintentional swim: 0 (whew)
- Number of moments spent thinking, “This is a FANTASTIC way to spend an autumn day!”: countless
Thank you!
We’d like to send out a special ‘thank-you’ to Anna Page from the Regional District of the North Okanagan for supporting the clean-up and handling the disposal of all the waste we collected.
Please contact Charles at Elements Adventure Company, Vernon, if you’d like to participate in next fall’s cleanup. info@elementsadventures.com
More fun pictures and videos can be found on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ElementsAdventureCompany
Hope to see you next fall!
