Thank you for funding our never-ending litter pick-up.
The South Slough Heritage District in Richmond runs from No. 2 Road in the west to Shell Road in the east and Steveston Highway to the north to Dyke Road in the south. Much of the land is in the Agricultural Land Reserve and includes larger farms and hobby farms, semi-rural and picturesque. The area is home to the Woodward Slough, the Horsehoe Slough, the Green Slough, McDonald Slough and the Finn Slough – an area of small estuaries.
Wildlife species include Blue Herons, Barred owls, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, Little Brown bats and American bullfrogs.
The area is often blanketed with litter and garbage from visitors driving through throwing paper and plastic from their vehicles, and dumping bags of garbage, couches, chairs, mattresses, styrofoam, discarded building materials and more.
Although the City will pick up larger items, it’s left to us who live here to continually pick up litter.
Our group used the funds to buy large garbage bags, grippers, tongs, gloves, sturdy garbage bags, orange tape, a large garbage can, Pinesol, and masks – equipment that will last us for many years. We store this equipment in a storage area at 11620 No. 4 Road. Then we set out and picked up litter. With large items such as couches, we phoned the City of Richmond and they picked up the items.
We have gone out as a group and also in twos and solo. One neighbour regularly picks up litter on his own, walking miles. We have picked up litter on the winding, tree-lined Finn Road, on Garden City Road south of Finn Road to the Dyke, on No. 4 Road and on No. 3 Road, as well as the farm access roads. Litter includes cans, empty liquor bottles, coffee cups and lids, soda containers, plastic pop bottles, plastic bags, disposable diapers, cardboard boxes, pens, gum packages, bags of used soil, bags of garbage, takeout containers and related.
Participants include:
Ian MacPherson, Finn Road. Ian has picked up more litter than the rest of us combined and is truly a local hero
John Baines, No. 4 Road (The Goldie Harris House)
Kimi Hendess and Kareno Hawbolt, Sweet Digz Organics
Steve Bridger, Finn Road
Helmut Pastrick, Finn Road
Teresa Murphy, Finn Road
Laura-Leah Shaw, No. 3 Road
Vera Smart, Cherry Lane Farm (organics)
Glen Anderson, Dyke Road
One of us wrote this short article, “Litter in paradise: who throws garbage on farmland.”
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