Our 4th Annual River Clean-up Paddle Event was held this past Saturday October 15 on the Middle Shuswap River, near Mabel Lake BC. Despite the cold, rainy forecast, 14 people attended the event from age 2 to 66. Approximately 214 lbs of garbage were hauled out of the river, including old tires, plastic bottles, car parts, and a third of an old canoe.
This year’s cleanup was more like maintenance, since we cleaned this section two years ago. Still, its surprising to see how much junk finds it’s way into our river system.
Along the 30km section of river that we paddled, there were very few spawning salmon to be seen. However, as if to make up for the lack of salmon, we saw more than 100 Bald Eagles perched in overhanging tree branches all along the way. It was incredible, and unusual!
Besides being an excuse to enjoy the fall colors while paddling a beautiful river, this annual event is meant to raise awareness of how humans impact their water sources. To become involved with this clean-up effort in 2017, please contact us to get on the notification list. We welcome anyone with a canoe, kayak, SUP, or other human-powered craft to participate in this fun, social event.
