Two Cleanups in May: There is Definitely an Echo in Here
by John McDermid
The 56th Annual Pathway and River Cleanup will happen on Saturday, May 6. Crescent Heights’ Community Cleanup is approved for 2023 and will go ahead on Saturday, May 20 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. These are perennially popular events in the community, and we hope to make a clean sweep in May.
We can always use extra hands at these events, so if you can lend a hand for either or both of them, please contact us at [email protected] or [email protected].
Pathway and River Cleanup
The 56th Pathway and River Cleanup is scheduled over a three-day window from May 5 to 7. We have settled upon Saturday, May 6 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. This gives the option of rescheduling to Sunday the 7th in the event of nasty weather. Our river reach is from 4 Street NE to Centre Street, River Left, or the near (north) bank of the Bow. We hope to see some of our regulars out on the pathway. Crescent Heights has been tackling this river reach for more than 15 years; in fact, it might just be twenty years this year! Let us know if you can join us and we can get a sense of our numbers for supplies.
One important note: the gravel bar that was deposited in the 2013 flood has been nicely remediated by the City of Calgary, which eliminates a good portion of the roughest and most difficult terrain on our river reach. In the almost ten years since its deposit, vegetation began to appear on the bar, making it tougher and tougher with each passing year; that is, until 2023! We’ll be done by noon!
Crescent Heights Community Cleanup
Our very popular Crescent Heights Community Cleanup is set for Saturday, May 20 from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm. If you can volunteer for the cleanup, we can certainly use your help, and being on site gives you the first pick of the Free Store’s treasures (see below). The City recommends having 15 to 20 volunteers on site, as community cleanup events are increasingly popular and draw people from across the city. The more people we have to direct traffic and activity on site, the better our traffic flow and cycle time will be.
We have just begun contacting with third-party vendors to determine the scope of materials we can accept, but we hope to be able to take metals and electronics as we have in past years, plus gently used household items for the Women in Need Society (WINS). Watch this space and check the CHCA website as May approaches.
What’s the Same for 2023?
Same place. CHCA Community Hall, enter from 2 St NW at 11 Ave. Packer trucks will be positioned to accept household waste, and stuff that may not fit in your black cart or green cart. Volunteers will be on hand to direct the traffic flow and maintain distance. Remember to stream recyclables to your blue cart or to a neighbourhood depot so we’re not sending recyclable materials to a landfill. Similarly, hazardous waste products (paints, chemicals, etc.) should be disposed of at a designated firehall or landfill equipped for those materials. No concrete rubble can be accepted because it damages the equipment. No glass, please! Make sure your load is properly secured and tarped en route to the hall. Please don’t bring materials and drop them before or after the event, we’ll be watching!
The Free Store will be in operation once again to help gently used items with life left in them find new homes. Goods that are not claimed will be loaded into the trucks in the last half-hour of the event. If you can help with this effort, please come to the site around 1:30 pm to help us clean up and close up.
What’s Different?
It’s still a COVID-19 world. Please note that participants will be required to follow all current provincial and local public health measures during Community Cleanup events. For more information, visit alberta.ca/covid-19-public-health-actions.aspx and calgary.ca/covid19.
Please be prepared to unload your own materials. Volunteers will be on hand but only to manage the traffic flow on site. Our trusted City staff are there to operate the equipment; remember that they are volunteering their time too! Unload as quickly as you can to keep things moving.
Can’t wait for May? The city-wide Community Cleanup program kicks off in April and events are scheduled at different communities across the city. Visit the website below for dates, times, and locations. https://www.calgary.ca/csps/abs/partnership-programs/community-cleanups.html.
