Last Saturday, about a hundred volunteers came together and joined in a huge project, cleaning garbage from Middle Vernon Creek, all the way from Duck Lake to Wood Lake.
It shouldn’t have been necessary. But it was.
You see, Middle Vernon Creek is not that easy to get at.
As the creek passes through Lake Country, there’s only a few points where it can be reached easily.
Most of its length is either surrounded by a lush pathless riparian zone, or it is bordered by private property.
Yet, after the volunteers returned from two hours of scouring the creek, not one crew was able to report that their section had been trash free.
Instead, they found lawn mowers, bicycles, footballs, shopping carts, concrete, kitty litter and tires from one end of the creek to the other.
That means two things.
One that some litterbugs are determined enough to force their way into inaccessible areas of the creek to dump their mattresses, tires and other trash.
And, two, that some of the main contributors to the trash in the creek are people who live right next to the creek, whether they be homeowners or renters.
Hopefully, the clean up project will have some positive effects.
Not only did some of the garbage get removed, but maybe some eyes will have been opened and people, like whoever spent years dumping kitty litter on the bank of the creek, will realise that an open waterway is not the same as a public dump.
There were, of course, places where it was clear the creek side residents had a responsible outlook, but they were few.
All residents of Lake Country need to take ownership of this valuable resource, but none more so than those who live next door to the creek.
You, after all, are our first line of defence and can help make community clean ups unnecessary.
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