In celebration of Earth Day, approximately 20 local people took part in a cleanup of Scout Valley Saturday morning.
The Couchiching Conservancy, which has an easement on Scout Valley, hosted Saturday’s event as part of their Passport to Nature program.
Participants roamed around the parking lot and onto the trail armed with garbage bags to pick up litter in the area.
Couchiching Conservancy engagement organizer, Samantha Vessios, says the clean-up has become an Earth Day tradition for families over the last couple of years.
“Scout Valley is a super popular trail in the area,” she said. “We know it gets a lot of traffic.”
While the trail is well maintained and kept clean by City of Orillia staff, Vessios, says it’s important to help out along the way and clean up whatever garbage has been left behind.
“Some things get left over … It’s always nice to come together as a community to help clean that up.”
The Earth Day celebration is an opportunity for community members to give back to the planet, Vessios says.
“We wouldn’t exist without earth,” she said. “It’s really important that we gave back to nature and pay respects to the land that is keeping us all living and surviving.
Charon and Douglas Varty said they were happy to participate in Saturday’s event despite the wet conditions.
“It’s helpful to the environment to clean up,” Charon said. “I do this on a daily basis in Oro-Medonte.”
Charon says it’s frustrating that some people don’t respect the region’s natural resources.
“They have no sense of consequence for what it means for our conservation areas,” she said. “They toss their water bottles, they toss their Timmies cups, they toss whatever they have.”
Charon says even just one person picking up garbage around town can make a difference.
“I think it helps set an example,” Douglas said. “We have to get it at the source and hope that the message gets through to other people.”