By Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

Earth Day Sunday marks start of Coulee Clean-Up

Apr 21, 2018 | 6:00 AM

LETHBRIDGE – There’s getting to be less and less garbage to pick up each year, and that’s a good sign. But ahead of this year’s Coulee Clean-Up, Curtis Goodman doesn’t want people to get complacent.

The resource development coordinator for the Helen Schuler Nature Centre said they’ve been tracking the amount of trash they pick up each year, and it’s trending lower.

“This is in part because more volunteers are going out, we’re covering more ground, and I think we’ve caught up on some of the backlog of garbage that had been left behind from years previous,” Goodman explained. “So, that’s certainly not to say that it’s okay to through your garbage carelessly. We want people to be very mindful of that, and find existing infrastructure, do your part, minimize the amount of garbage escaping from your own day-to-day activities.”

Last year just over 1,300 volunteers collected 540 bags of litter. This year’s Coulee Clean-Up launches on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22. People do not need to pre-register to take part; they only have to show up at the Baroness Picnic Shelter to help clean up Indian Battle Park between 1-3 p.m.

There are also clean-up events Friday, April 27 at Galt Museum; Tuesday, May 1 at St. Patrick’s Cemetery; Wednesday, May 2 at 10 St. W. for Popson/Cottonwood Parks; and Thursday, May 24 at Cottonwood.

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People can also register on the Helen Schuler Nature Centre’s website for their own group clean-up effort and choose a specific area from a map. Goodman said one side-effect of the prolonged winter weather is that it’s taking longer than usual for the slopes to dry out.

“So, if people are thinking about organizing their own coulee clean-up group, we’re recommending (that they) plan into the month of May, just to allow things to dry out as much as possible,” he said.

Garbage in the city’s open spaces is often left behind as litter, or it can also be blown in by the wind. It can affect not only the aesthetic of park spaces, but water quality in the river and the safety of wildlife. Goodman cited an example of a bird that died after becoming entangled in the string from an abandoned raft.

Over ten years, the Coulee Clean-Up has removed more than 3,650 bags of trash.