Sunday, Sept. 22 was a grey and rainy day. It was on this day, with the mist-shrouded peaks of the Cascades looming overhead, that locals gathered on the banks of the Chilliwack River for the Chilliwack/Vedder River cleanup.
Over the past 17 years, the Chilliwack/Vedder River Cleanup Society (C/VRCS) has organized teams of volunteers who venture out along the Chilliwack and Vedder Rivers to gather trash. The effort has made a significant difference over the years.
“Since 2002, we have collected 15 metric tonnes of garbage,” said Nikki Rekman, who is president of the society.
The celebration sees an average of 250-300 attendees, according to director Ryan Enns, who has been on the C/VRCS board for two years. However, there were only approximately 200 people there this year on account of the wet weather.
Yet for those who did come, the rain did little to dampen their spirits. Many families came with their children in tow, and the youngsters appeared to be enjoying themselves. Rekman said the cleanup is a popular family outing for local residents. Tidying up the river banks offers an opportunity to experience nature, and one family specifically requested directions to a “less urban” section of the river.
After registering at base camp, served by the Chilliwack Fish and Game Protection Association, the volunteers gathered the tools they would need: blue rubber gloves, an orange plastic bucket and/or black garbage bag, and a grabbing stick. They then consulted with either Enns or Dave Barnes, who stood by a collection of maps of the river valley and offered directions to good cleaning sites. The volunteers then fanned out across the region to gather garbage from the corridor between the river and the adjacent road.
The area covered by the cleanup is vast, stretching from the Vedder River’s confluence with the Fraser River in the west to Chilliwack Lake in the east. It is a length approximately 40 km long, according to Enns’ estimate. The western stretches of the river on the maps were marked with green tape, on which was written the letters “AAR” followed by the name of an individual, family, company, or other group. These areas are covered by the Adopt-A-River initiative, whereby individuals or companies will pledge to maintain a small section of the river and keep it clear of detritus all year round. Enns and Barnes usually steer volunteers further upriver to places that are not protected.
Local companies and non-government organizations provide support for C/VRCS’s initiative, including providing catering and prizes for the raffle that took place at the end of the event. Some local conservation groups also had some simple exhibits at the fish and game office, one of which consisted of a tank containing several varieties of live Pacific salmon. C/VRCS also receives funding from the City of Chilliwack, the Fraser Valley Regional Authority, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
A few hours later, once the volunteers had returned with their collected garbage, they were treated to a barbeque lunch, which was a simple but satisfying burgers and hot dogs affair.
The C/VRCS plans to hold their cleanup again next year, with the starting location to be determined.
Images: David Myles/The Cascade
