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River valley gets cleaned up

It’s spring-cleaning time for the Town of Okotoks. The annual community cleanup will take place May 7, beginning with registration at 9 a.m. at Ethel Tucker Centennial Park. An appreciation BBQ will wind up the event at noon.
Rebecca Beach tosses garbage in to a trash bag with her two daughters Josslyn and Caitlin during the annual Sheep River Valley clean-up event in 2014.
Rebecca Beach tosses garbage in to a trash bag with her two daughters Josslyn and Caitlin during the annual Sheep River Valley clean-up event in 2014.

It’s spring-cleaning time for the Town of Okotoks.

The annual community cleanup will take place May 7, beginning with registration at 9 a.m. at Ethel Tucker Centennial Park. An appreciation BBQ will wind up the event at noon.

Volunteers will be sent out to cleanup the Sheep River Valley and plant trees in designated locations. This year, the Town will be divided into zones so residents can clean up their neighbourhoods.

Okotoks community events coordinator Mark Doherty said the idea rose from a number of people expressing interest in moving out of the river valley into parks and other public areas in neighbourhoods around town.

People can pre-register and participate in cleaning up their own neighbourhoods, he said. There will be a specific place for garbage pickup in each zone and the parks department will collect that refuse a few days later.

“This is just a great way to get the community to give back to themselves,” said Doherty. “We have such a fantastic trail system and beautiful parks that everyone wants to see kept clean and maintained.”

It is nice to see grandparents and parents out with their children to pitch in for the community, he said.

“It’s always a good message for young people, to show them how important our environment is and how we need to protect it,” said Doherty.

There will be 3,000 trees planted in the river valley as part of the community cleanup.

Gordon White, arborist for the Town, said the tree planting is included in the river valley clean-up and is also a celebration of Arbour Day.

“We’ll be planting white spruce and balsam poplar, which are two trees native to the river valley,” said White.

He said the planting areas vary from year to year to stagger growth. This year, trees will be planted in the Heritage Parkway east of the library and in the Cimarron Parkway east of the water treatment plant.

Pre-registration for volunteering can be done online at www.okotoks.ca and closes May 5. Residents can also register in-person at 9 a.m. at Ethel Tucker May 7.

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