Judy Swens is putting out a call to Sunshine Coast residents to help tidy up their beach back yard.
Swens, of Sunshine Coast Parks, is looking for volunteers to assist in a cleaning of the beach area of Sargeant Bay Provincial Park on Tuesday, Sept. 20, starting at 9 a.m. The effort is part of the week-long Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-Up.
Taking place from Sept. 17 to 25, the annual event sees volunteers assemble in communities across Canada and clean up various shorelines such as beaches, riverbanks, lakefronts or wetlands.
Swens said the Sargeant Bay event is simple. All volunteers have to do is sign up, show up at the park's parking lot and help pick up garbage. Garbage bags and gloves will be provided.
"We'll take care of the dump load and whatever we find. We just need volunteers to come down and help us out," Swens said.
"Because that area is a wetland area, it's quite fragile and has a lot of birds. So we just wanted to clean that beach up."
Swens also gave people credit for taking their trash with them.
"Most people are pretty good when it comes to packing out what they pack in, but we also get a bunch of stuff that washes up on the shore. That's the case everywhere, I believe, as there is so much of that in the ocean. I wanted to do this as part of an awareness to the community for cleaning up our beaches and keeping them clean," she stated.
Swens said she is hoping the community will show support.
"We live in such a beautiful area, and I think you should be proud of your beaches and want to represent them in a way that will help show them off," she said.
Volunteers can sign up at www.shorelinecleanup.ca, or contact her directly by phone at 604-885-7556 or email [email protected].
